The Butterfly Effect
by abbieingleby
Summary: Struggling to carry on with day to day life, the trio move into a townhouse in London. For two years they have had a routine, and they are getting by. But then one small thing changes each of their lives forever, what is the butterfly that sets off the butterfly effect? [COMPLETE]
1. Chapter 1

Wake up. Get dressed. Try to eat. Force boys to eat. Brush teeth. Get briefcase. Put heels on. Find Floo powder. Leave for work. This had been Hermione's routine for two years now, and she was lost. She had a routine because otherwise she would do what Harry and Ron do: nothing. Since the war ended, they milled about for a while, helped fix up Hogwarts and then the Ministry. They fumbled through. And then other people went back to their lives, back to work, back to school. Harry, Ron and Hermione found themselves in limbo. They had been paid millions by the Ministry for what they had done, for saving the wizarding world. But money didn't matter, they couldn't bring back the people they'd lost. They couldn't stop the nightmares that woke each of them at a different hour in the night. The money, however, did buy them a townhouse. It was hidden away, much like Grimmauld Place was, but they entered through a muggle front door. Their neighbour, Mrs. Walters, had no idea they were wizards. She was just post retirement, had four dogs, and a husband who played a game called 'boules'. In Carys' ( Mrs. Walters ) mind, the three were soldiers who didn't want to be bothered, but she brought them her latest bakes and pies anyway. She was a pretty woman, with slightly greying blonde hair that was always swept into an updo, and the trio had never seen her without an apron on, or rather a 'pinny' as she put it. She had a wicked sense of humour, and her bakes were delicious so the three of them weren't fussed by her mothering. But their other neighbours kept clear, the scars seemed to put them off. That, and the stench of alcohol on Ron's breath.

The house cost them over 2,000,000 galleons and was a typical London townhouse with a brown brick, white window frames and a soft uplighting along with a topiary. Hermione had charmed it so that it had flowers entwined around it all year round, much to the annoyance of Mr. Walters, who happened to be a keen gardener. Entering through the front door, there appeared to be a normal hallway, with soft grey walls and a wooden floor, but once you were through into the house you saw the true wizarding characteristics. The living room had tall ceilings, with soft grey/cream walls, but the ceiling was enchanted just like in the Great Hall - a little piece of Hogwarts. The windows were almost floor to ceiling, and had deep window ledges so that Hermione could curl up in them and read. Dark grey, thick drapes hung in front of the windows and the colour matched the fluffy rug that lay on the floor. Ron had charmed the rug ( it had taken him months ) to purr if you stroked it in a certain way. There was a fireplace that was used as their Floo but it had security guards enabled and was rarely used, apart from twice a day when Hermione went to and fro work. In the centre of the living room, there was a large glass coffee table, and a long roll top sofa, and two arm chairs opposite that. All of the furniture was adorned with fluffy throws and large feather pillows. The fireplace had a mirror above it, that unfortunately, was charmed to give opinions on your appearance - much to the annoyance of Harry. The kitchen was similarly decorated, with homely wooden floors, a rustic green agar and polished concrete work surfaces. Most of the time they used magic to cook, but none of them ate often. The kitchen had a dining section with a long wooden table, much like the tables at Hogwarts, it had two benches and a set of red and gold crockery. The crockery grew dust until one of them could be bothered to clean. The townhouse had 4 bedrooms, one lay dormant and the four bedrooms each had a bathroom and a walk in closet. Ron scoffed when he saw the walk in wardrobe, but he uses it more than Hermione does.

* * *

"GET OFF! NO! GET THE FUCK OFF ME! YOU BASTARD! THAT'S MY BROTHER YOU FUCKING BASTARD! DON'T YOU DARE.." Ron screamed, and then the words faded to wails and his face was covered in tears, the loose grey shirt that clung to his torso was drenched in sweat and he was breathing heavily. 4 am. Ron's turn for a nightmare. Hermione heard him this time and went into his room, gently shaking him awake. "Go away." He grumbled, as he always did when Hermione woke him up. Their relationship had been brief, and they were both working through far too much grief for any chance of it lasting. But for a few months it had provided both of them with comfort. They resorted to being friends again, and in truth, they were closer as friends as they ever had been as anything else. Hermione sat at the foot of his bed, and tied her hair into a loose pony tail, her soft ringlets a little more controlled than what they once were. From her lack of food she now had striking cheek bones, and hollowed out eyes from her lack of sleep. But she was beautiful none-the-less, and she'd become impeccable at glamouring herself for public appearances and work. She was wearing little navy sleep shorts with a paisley pattern, and a tight camisole. "Ronald, don't be so childish. I'm not leaving until you're back to sleep." She cast a silencing charm over the room, so that Harry could have a few more hours of sleep before 6 am rolled around and his nightmares would start. "Mione, why won't you let me take sleeping potions?" She rolled her eyes, this debate had been persistent for the last two years, "Because you'll get addicted, and you drink enough as it is. I don't want you to have a drug addiction as well." Hermione cared for him, and Harry. She was grateful that she had someone to wake up to, and for someone to break her out of her routine every now and again. But she occasionally longed for someone to hold her tight, someone that didn't carry their own demons. But who didn't carry demons in the wizarding world?

"What was your nightmare about this time?" He shrugged, and she gave him a pointed look. "It was about Fred. He didn't deserve to die. He was a good person. He'd never killed anyone." Ron shuddered, replaying the names of the people he'd killed in his head. "Don't do that. Ron, they weren't people, they were death eaters. Don't even think about their names." Ron ran a hand through his hair, "I can't just 'not think about their names', I see their faces every time I fucking BLINK Hermione. I killed people. That isn't what I intended, I" but he was cut off, Hermione interjected. "Do you think any of us went into the war intending to do what we did? Do you think I went into the war intending for me to wipe my parents memories? Intending to kill dozens of people? Destroy one of the only places that I've been able to call home? Ron, they were consequences of war, that was Voldemort." Ron shuddered. That name. That man.

Hermione looked at the clock, 4.45 am and Ron was finally asleep. She took away the silencing charm and crept out of the room, it was the smallest bedroom, but Ron didn't like overly grand conditions. He'd grown up in the burrow for gods sake. It had floor to ceiling windows along one wall, and it was on the second floor of the townhouse, the windows looked out onto the garden, with his bathroom window the only window looking out onto the street. The room had a wall in the middle of it, that had a king size bed against it, and a bright red ottoman at the foot of the bed, the base of the bed was made from black velvet and he had white sheets with a red throw and gold decorative pillows. The colour scheme revolved around Gryffindor, and there was a portrait of a lion where a mirror had been, the lion roared once in a while. On either side of the bed there were mahogany side tables, with lumps balls hanging around the room, instead of muggle lamps. He'd charmed the windows so that they darkened at sun down, and the walk in wardrobe was also made of mahogany. Much to Hermione's annoyance: "Have you never heard of endangered trees Ronald?" .. His room was minimalistic, and his bathroom even more so. Slate grey tiling, a double walk in shower, two sinks.

* * *

It was a Saturday, and they were all sat in the garden, pretending to ponder breakfast. "Maybe we could go out for breakfast?" Harry murmured, trying to continue the illusion that they all ate like normal people. "Oh yeah I've heard that there's a new place that opened up around the corner, it's muggle." Ron tried to vein an interest. "It's the bluebird cafe, I think. But boys, it's been there 6 months. Me and Fleur have been several times.. I told you about it." They laughed, "Any good?" Ron grunted. "It's nice. Pleasant. Good cake." Hermione never resisted a cake, especially in the company of Fleur, who could rant about patisseries for hours. Harry got up, he was wearing slack jeans in a dark denim, and a black tee, he had flip flops on and his usual round glasses. "Let's go." Ron rolled his eyes, "I didn't think you were being serious. I'm not really very hungry." Hermione got up too, she had better go out at some point this weekend. "Come on, I'll pay." A running joke between the three of them, because it really didn't matter who paid, their vaults got topped up every month, so they equally had the same wealth. In the beginning they'd tried to spend as much as possible to see how much the Ministry would pay, but every month their vaults were topped up.

Finally, they managed to get out of their front door. Just as removal lorry was pulling up. "Did Mr and Mrs. Walters move out?" Ron turned to Hermione, "Nope.. Saw her last night. She brought us a blueberry pie.." Out of the cab, a slender, suited man jumped out. "No.." "FUck" "I don't believe it." And then, as if by magic, a smaller, also suited ( which seemed peculiar,  
as he couldn't have been more than 2 ) little boy scrambled out of the cab. Both with that shocking blond hair, that smug expression painted over their face. All three of them at once muttered, "Malfoy."


	2. Chapter 2

"Harry, strolled up to Malfoy and who he presumed was Malfoy Jr, "Malfoy?" Safe to say, Hermione and Ron were still stood outside the house, with their jaws on the floor. "Shit, Mione, is that van.. does removal van mean they're moving in?" Hermione nodded slowly, looking at the house next to theirs, which they presumed, after 2 years, was just an empty house. Perhaps commuters lived there, maybe it was rented out. They didn't really know or care, until now.

* * *

Draco nodded, looking up and down at the man that Harry Potter had become, he extended his hand, his expensive suit creasing slightly at the action. "Harry Potter, well I'll be damned. How many pots did you and Weasley have to scrub at the Leaky Cauldron before you could afford this place? It must've cost you millions." He smirked, and Harry couldn't stop thinking about how damn sexy that smirk was. _Wait, what?_ Harry cast the thought aside. "Not that it's any of your business, Malfoy. But, we received payouts after the war. You should've received something too." At this point Ron stepped up, "Yeah, did they not have space in the family cell at Azkaban for you?" The small boy stood at Malfoy's legs at this point, looked very confused and Malfoy scooped him up, holding the boy on his hip. "I'm sorry. Can we do this later? I'd rather you didn't mention things like that around my son." Hermione became more than interested, her nosey side getting the better of her. "Son? I mean.. He's a carbon copy of you but you can't be older than 23 and he must be at least two years old." Draco looked at the 'carbon-copy' of the boy wistfully, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind his ear. "This is Scorpius. My son. Me and my ex-wife decided to start a family as soon as we could.. we didn't know what would happen to me." Draco's face flushed at this point. _Interesting,_ Harry thought, _he can show remorse._ "He's two, you're right, as usual, Granger. Me and my wife divorced two weeks into him being born, and she left. Said she couldn't be a mother at 21. And other issues." Harry raised an eyebrow at this point, and swore he saw a tattoo peak out from his sleeve that looked just like the tattoo that develops when you come out as gay in the wizarding world.

A year or two ago, the Ministry encouraged people to get married and have children, to repopulate the wizarding world. But this caused problems, especially amongst the LGBT community. Many ministry officials were being questioned intensively as to why they hadn't settled down, when it was being pushed upon the population. So a tattoo system was developed, once the person in question had come out as gay or the like, a tattoo appeared on your left wrist, for gay men, an inverted pink triangle, a homage to the many gay wizards that were persecuted in the war. Lesbians have a tattoo of an inverted black triangle, and bisexuals have an outlined triangle with one side shaded black ( for males ) and one side shaded pink ( for females. ) and so forth, there were many different symbols for different people. It was complicated magic, but it had been embraced by the LGBT wizarding community.

Harry nodded, he almost felt sorry for Malfoy. Being left to raise a child on your own can't be easy, especially when he was already going through so much in the aftermath of the war. He must never sleep. _Why do I care?_ Harry couldn't help but judge himself for his compassion for someone that actively tried to kill him, for years. "So .. you're moving in here?" Draco nodded, "Needed a fresh start. Away from .. her." He muttered it like she was a bad taste in his mouth, like the bitterness in his words would remove her from his memory. "Um, we should probably get to breakfast. Harry? Mione?" They both nodded, looking Draco and his son up and down again. "I guess we'll see you around then." Draco looked up, as they were walking away. "Sorry, do you know any good places around here that Scorp would be able to eat at? We've been travelling since 5." Hermione sighed softly, and her mothering instincts took over. "Come with us, we're heading to the Bluebird."

* * *

They were seated at a table my a young muggle waitress, the table was out in the courtyard, and Hermione slyly cast a silencing charm around them after they had ordered, after her many years of advanced magic training, she was able to perform certain spells wandlessly. "You can perform wandless magic?" Draco seemed surprised, and Hermione couldn't help but sass him. "Sorry, I didn't realise wandless magic was reserved for purebloods." She cut into her eggs benedict, and Harry winced. He had a feeling she wanted to put that knife somewhere else. "Sorry. She gets like this." "It's okay, I wouldn't expect you guys to be civil to me, I treated you badly, really badly." Scorpius had started crying because he couldn't reach his dummy, and Draco scooped him up onto his lap, bouncing him gently until he stopped crying. Harry's heart melted, he never thought he'd see Draco looking so happy, so in love. He adored that boy with everything he had.. Harry felt something. Jealousy? "Hermione, I wasn't making a dig at you, before, I was merely impressed. Wandless magic is completely astounding, I wish I was anywhere near as good as you. I always envied you in potions, any points you got for your house were because you earned them. I got points for being a suck-up." Ron smirked, and muttered "You got that right." It was the first thing he had said the whole time they'd been there, he even pointed to what he ordered on the menu. "So, Draco, tell us about what you did.. after the war. How's your family?" Harry felt the urge to find out about this wife, why she abandoned Draco. "Her name was Astoria, Astoria Greengrass. She was beautiful, intelligent.. witty. She had an evil sense of humour, and she was a perfect mother. We travelled the world together, quickly of course, due to apparation. But then she left a note and divorce papers and I never saw her again.. Sure, we fought. We had our problems, but we worked through them. I never expected it. Really, I don't feel bad for myself. There was always a part of me that held back from my true self, if you get what I mean? Anyway, I feel bad for Scorp. He'll never know his mother, and unless she magically comes back .." Scorpius at this point had fallen asleep against his father's chest.

"D-Do you get nightmares too?" Harry had to know, and Hermione was keen to find out as well, if she was honest with herself. The three of them had distanced themselves from their other friends, they of course talked to family, but other than that.. Few people entered their lives, their bubble. Draco reached for his glass and took a sip, and Harry swore, this time he definitely saw an outline of a pink triangle on his wrist. "Yes." He replied cooly, as if they didn't bother him in the slightest. He returned his glass to the table just as Harry was picking his glass up, their knuckles brushed against each others and Harry felt a shock through his veins, his heart rate spiked and he felt as if no one else mattered, it was just him and Draco sat at that table. "You can tell us. I haven't slept through the night in 3 years." Draco looked at Harry, then at Ron, who was absent mindedly poking his food with a fork, and then he looked at Hermione. "We've found it helps. Talking about them. Right, boys?" They both nodded quickly.

"I guess I have nightmares about the war, about the Death-Eaters in my home, Malfoy Mansion, I have nightmares of when I was under the Cruicatus curse. Of losing Scorpius. I have nightmares of Azkaban. Of dementors." He sighed. He couldn't go into detail but it seemed enough for the three of them. "Skeeter bugged my previous flat, you know. Scorp couldn't have been three months old when they released it," he muttered 'bastards' under his breath and continued, "Yeah. She wrote a long scandalous piece on me and my son, of how he was born out of wedlock, even though he wasn't. Just because I don't wear a wedding ring." He rolled his eyes, "And then shit really did hit the fan when she wrote a piece of me and my one night stand with Finnigan." Ron sprayed his whiskey all over Hermione and her white dress. "FINNIGAN?" He almost shouted the name. "As in Seamus Finnigan, as in Seamus who has a dick and is male Finnigan? He's GAY?" Hermione gave Ron a piercing look, "Ronald. If you don't have anything constructive to say, keep it to yourself. And go get yourself some ice water, you need to sober up." He didn't move. "NOW." Ron quickly scarpered inside.

"Sorry. Ignore him. You were saying, about Skeeter," Harry urged him to continue. "Well after that, I couldn't leave my house. The tat appeared on my wrist, and I came to terms with my sexuality. It made sense in the end, but it was hard at the time. I didn't sleep in weeks, aside from having a four month old baby."

* * *

The four of them walked back to their houses, and walked into their respective houses, Harry took one last look at Draco, he muttered under his breath. "I'm not gay, but damn, Draco."


	3. Chapter 3

Harry heaved his legs out of bed, he slept shirtless with flannel pj bottoms, but he still got too hot from his nightmares. Much to Hermione's annoyance, she didn't need to see someone who she thought of like a brother, wandering around the house half naked. His bedroom, was exactly what Harry had always not had. It was spacious, clean, and bright. It had plush carpets that were cream, soft brown walls, with thick deep gold curtains. It had large windows that had a street view, and he normally charmed them so that he could hear the traffic. The quiet left him alone with his thoughts and he was nowhere near ready for that, not yet. The room had two simplistic armchairs, and a king size bed, charmed to be as comfortable as possible - in a bid to aid his sleep, Ron presumed that was why he could sleep from 2 am right through till 6 am. On the wall was a large photograph that had sky charms on it to reflect the weather, the photograph showed the Gryffindor Quidditch team, when Oliver Wood was captain. He had a few framed photographs on his bedside table, but other than that the room was bare. And he needed that. The cupboard under the stairs was cluttered and dirty, it had dark dingy walls and a cramped bed. No, this room was the exact opposite and it was perfect.

He sat on his bed and stared out into the summer day that was just waking up, he'd had a nightmare earlier in the morning but he'd managed to calm himself down by 6.45 am, and get a little more sleep. That hard work with charming the bed had been worth it. But before his nightmare, he'd had something that he hadn't experienced in months, maybe years. Harry had had a dream. It was foggy, but he had a recollection of Draco, and he was saying something.. Something like, "Are you feeling it now, Potter?" _No.. That can't be right._ Harry shook his head quickly, trying to push the image of him and Draco… well.. him and Draco, out of his head completely. But he couldn't. He thought of Draco in the shower, he thought of Draco when he was getting dressed, when he was eating his breakfast, when he was feeding the owl, when he was walking out of the house and when he bumped into Carys.

* * *

"Oh um shit sorry!" He looked up and saw Carys tending to a strawberry bush, he blushed immediately. "Mrs. Walters, I'm so sorry I didn't realise you were there. And sorry, for the swearing." Carys laughed and looked at him, "I was young once you know. And please, call me Carys. In my opinion the only person who was Mrs. Walters was my mother in law, and she was a batty old witch." Harry smirked, _oh how little Carys knows._ "Anyway, how are you faring, my dear boy?" Harry smiled politely, "I'm okay. Getting through the days. Thank you for the pie by the way, we'll get the dish back to you when we've cleaned it.." She smiled and shook her head, "Nonsense, I have plenty of crockery. Just pop it round when you get the chance." At that point, Draco had stepped out of the front door and gotten his milk from the doorstep. He was shirtless. _Oh dear god, why was he shirtless, no Harry! Keep your wand to yourself._ "So.. You know the newbies do you?" She raised an eyebrow, Harry was salivating. "We .. we went to boarding school together when we were younger. He fought in the war like we did. Other side. But it all worked.. worked itself out in the end." Carys clapped her hands primly and Harry's attention refocussed. "I know that look." Harry chuckled, "What look?" She rolled her eyes again, "You like him." Harry blushed and shook his head, "I'm not gay, Mrs. Walters." Carys laughed, "Oh, of course not. You're just drooling over my magnolia's."  
Harry had by now sat down on the wall, and was explaining to Mrs. Walters the relationship that Draco and Harry had had over their childhood years. Minus the magic, of course. "And then, yesterday, we all went for breakfast. And our knuckles touched and I just.. I felt electricity. I never felt anything like that with girlfriends that I've had." She smiled fondly, "With Abe, I just knew. I knew from the moment we met that he was my one and only. Now I think for him, there's me, his boules and his shrubs. But I don't mind, it keeps him quiet. Sometimes you just feel it with some people dear." Harry pondered over this, he felt that tingling in his wrist again, as if something was desperate to break out. "Maybe I am gay, it would explain a lot.. I've had girlfriends but it just didn't feel right.. I never dreamt of Astrix like everyone else did" Carys raised an eyebrow, "What a peculiar name, where did you say you went to boarding school?" Astrix was a previous captain of the Gryffindor quidditch team, and for some reason, a portrait of her hung in the boys locker room at Hogwarts. Most of the boys fancied her, even if she was over 110 years old by now. Harry looked up, "Oh, Scotland." Carys laughed and nodded her head, "Makes sense. Funny place." Harry mumbled in his head, _I'm gay._ And suddenly, a faint tattoo of a pink triangle start to emerge on his wrist, he hid his arm behind his back, and played with his hair as not to seem suspicious. "I was meaning to ask Harry, what's that scar on your forehead?" He smiled politely, "Long story. Got to go. Bye!"

* * *

He ran straight up to his bedroom, and slumped on his bed, staring at his wrist. The outline of the pink triangle seemed more prominent now, and he smiled. "I'm gay." The tattoo fluttered slightly, and Harry laughed. It had feelings. A tattoo had feelings. He must've fallen asleep at some point during the afternoon because when he woke up the sun was beginning to set, he had dreamt about Draco again, and he had an overwhelming desire to see him. Hermione had gone into work, even though it was a Sunday. Apparently there had been an emergency, but it was more likely that Hermione had had a nightmare and couldn't go back to sleep - she had a tendency to go to work just to occupy herself. Harry easily got out of the house without anyone realising and knocked on the Malfoy's door: no answer. _Where could he be?_ He rushed back to his bedroom and got his laptop from the draw, he typed in the codes required to enter the wizarding web, and soon he logged himself into W. No one really knew why it was called W, but Hermione had likened it to a muggle thing called 'Facebook'. He typed in Draco's name and came across his profile, he urgently clicked on it and found a status update - from two hours ago. He was in a gay wizarding bar near Diagon Alley. Harry had never been to a gay bar, he had no idea what to wear so he put a tight black tee on, casual jeans and battered converse, he slipped his wand and his wallet into separate pockets of his jeans and flooed to Diagon Alley; he found the bar fairly easily. It was called 'The excitable broom' and Harry groaned, he was opening himself up to a whole world of trouble. He flashed the bouncer his tat and walked right through, scanning the room for Draco. The young wizard couldn't find him anywhere but he could see lots of other handsome, eligible bachelors. He strode across to the bar and ordered a double shot of fire whiskey, a man at the bar who'd clearly had too much to drink looked him up and down and smirked, "Show me your wand and I'll show you mine." He slurred, and as Harry in his naive state pulled out his wand the other man giggled. "No not that one, your other 11 inch." Harry blanched and quickly ran off with his fire whiskey in hand. He sat at a table near the dance floor, looking out for any sign of a bright blond haired man.

By the time Harry had found Draco, he'd had several fire whiskeys and was well on his way to being drunk. "Harry? Potter? Well, I'll be fucking damned." Draco murmured, his voice sleek and sophisticated. "I'm gay Draco!" Harry giggled and whispered in his ear, "I can see that by your tattoo Potter." Harry tried to get off his stool but he wobbled like a giraffe learning to walk, "Harry I'll take you home. You've had too much to drink and we don't want the tabloids getting a hold of you like this." Harry growled a little, "But I've not danced with you! I want to meet your wand.." Harry giggled, mumbling suggestively. Draco smirked and picked Harry up. _He weighs less than Scorpius_ , Draco pondered, as he carried him out of the club and into the warm summers evening. Harry managed to get two feet on the ground and was supported by Draco. For a brief second, Harry was caught in the steel grey gaze of Draco. And then he murmured, "My tongue's magic. Wanna see?" And Draco couldn't help but laugh. "No. You're drunk, and I am not taking advantage of you like that Potter," They managed to apparate home because Floo seemed dangerous with Harry's lack of co-ordinated speech. Draco unlocked their front door and carried Harry up to bed. He closed the bedroom door and slowly started to undress Harry, took his things out of his pockets, his hand brushed against something and Harry looked at him, he grinned. "I knew you played dirty, Malfoy." Draco rolled his eyes and as soon as he had gotten Harry ready for bed, he had ran to his bathroom and started throwing up. Draco sat in one of the armchairs in Harry's bedroom.

About half an hour later, Harry had finished emptying the contents of his stomach, and felt like an idiot. "Oh Merlin.." He looked at himself in the mirror and prayed that Draco had gone home: he hadn't. "Draco.. Please, just go home. Don't you have Scorpius you need to look after?" Draco shook his head, "My Mother is looking after him whilst I organise the house. It's not safe for a two year old at the moment. Now, get into bed. I'll tuck you in." He smiled softly, and Harry felt obliged to do what he asked. He climbed into bed and tried to get comfortable, even though he just felt lousy. "I'm never drinking ever again." Draco smiled, "Sure you're not." Harry shook his head quickly, "I'm not!" Draco laughed and pulled the duvet over Harry's body, tucking him in. "Come lie with me?" Harry mumbled, his nightmares were the worst when he had been drinking, unlike with Ron who seemed to have fewer nightmares the drunker he was. Draco relented, and lay next to Harry, snuggling his body around Harry's, acting the bigger spoon. He had an overwhelming need to keep Harry safe, make sure that Harry was happy. Finally, Draco heard the soft snores of the smaller man and he tried to free himself from the bed, but Harry gripped his arm, making sure that he stayed.


	4. Chapter 4

Hermione had had a stressful week at work. And when Hermione's week at work had been stressful it meant that nothing in the house had been cleaned, there were empty whiskey bottles on the side, the owl had taken residence at the Malfoy's as it had a much greater chance of being fed there..  
On Friday 8th September she finally managed to get home at 7 pm, tumbling through the fireplace she kicked her nude heels off, dropped her briefcase on the floor and walked through the living room, mumbling to turn the lumos balls to a soft white, she couldn't deal with much more. She walked into the kitchen to find Ron sat at the kitchen table, nursing a bottle of fire whiskey. "Ronald." Hermione spoke loudly, waking Ron from his daydream. "Have we got any food in the house?" Ron looked up and shrugged, "Think we've got some bread or something." Hermione went to look in the cupboard and found a crusty loaf of bread, that was now rock hard. She cast a spell on it and it softened enough for her to eat it, she didn't really care at this point. She shrugged her suit jacket off and sat at the table with Ron, pulling lumps of the bread off and eating them. "What's up with you?" Ron muttered, not really that interested, but he had soon learnt that it was much better to ask. "Crux from the Reversal Squad tried to reverse the memory of a squib, completely unaware that he was a squib. The spell deflected and now he can't remember anything. Had to take him to St. Mungo's but St. Mungo's are dealing with an outbreak of MRSA, somehow it got in from one of the muggle hospitals in the area. Absolute nightmare. So, Healer Smethwyck sent us to the only other place that could quickly reverse an obliviatus spell.. Hogwarts." She sighed, eating more of the bread, and tearing chunks off quickly. "And of course, Crux couldn't apparate so he had to side along apparate with me to Hogsmeade and then we walked up to the castle from there." Hermione was out of breath by the time she'd finished, but she was glad she had it off her back. "Tonnes of paperwork. But Crux has his memory back now, thank Merlin." She'd already finished the loaf of bread.

* * *

Harry walked into the back garden to find Ron kicking a football around, a muggle invention which Hermione had introduced him to, you had to kick it against a goal which they had nailed to the back fence. Hermione was curled up in one of the cabana chairs, with a book on degree level magic, not that she was interested in studying for a degree - she didn't have the time. "Your mum sent an owl over Ron!" Ron looked up and shrugged, "You can open it." Harry sat by Hermione and pulled at the red ribbon, unfurling the scripture. It read:

 _Ronald,_

 _Me and your Father miss you, George has gone travelling and we're not sure when he'll be back. Ginny has gone back to school, I feel like all my owlets have all left the nest. Bring Harry and Hermione for dinner tonight, Merlin knows you all need some meat on your bones._

Hermione smiled, "Just write back and say we'll be there by 6. Here, I've got some owl treats here somewhere." She dug into her pocket and produced a few bits, the owl ate them graciously, took the note, and flew off again into the afternoon haze of London. "Do we have to go?" Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron's childish whining, "Ronald, that's your parents you're complaining about. All they want to do is give you dinner." Ron laughed, "But it's not just dinner is it? It's 'are you okay?' 'Will you ever settle down?' 'You three can't hide out in that house of yours forever'. Mark my words Hermione, she'll be questioning us as soon as we've dug into the roast potatoes." Harry laughed, kicking the football into the goal. "He's right Mione." She huffed and tossed her unruly ringlets over her shoulder, the more stressed she got the curlier they got, she had tried countless charms on them but nothing seemed to work. She'd even been to a muggle hairdresser to see if she could try the old fashioned way, but still no luck.

* * *

The trio flooed into the Burrow, Hermione was wearing a white summer dress which skimmed her knees and had a belt around her waist that was made from charmed daisies, she'd pinned her hair back so that her ringlets fell down her back and were out of her face and she'd glamoured her face so that she looked less tired, less malnourished. She couldn't deal with Mrs. Weasley fussing. Harry and Ron on the other hand, had both pulled t-shirts on, of varying clean shades, battered jeans and converse. They couldn't have looked worse.

"They're here! Arthur! Oh Hermione, you look lovely." She cast an eye over the boys and shook her head in disgust, "You couldn't even have put on a clean t-shirt?" She tried to tame Ron's hair but it just ended up looking worse. "Muuuum.." Ron whined, praying for this whole ordeal to be over soon. Arthur Weasley walked into the main room and smiled, the smile didn't go to his eyes - but that was a characteristic of most people affected by the war. Especially the Weasley's. He hugged Harry, slapping him on the back and hugged Hermione gently. "Ron, my boy. Come on, I've got something to show you: in the shed." He chuckled and whispered in Ron's ear, "Get yer Mother off your back."  
As the two of them were busying themselves in the shed, Mrs. Weasley took it as her chance to pounce on Hermione and Harry. "Is he keeping well? Staying away from the whiskey? Does he go outside? Bathe? Get exercise? Eat?" Hermione smiled sadly, "Mrs. Weasley.. Please, try not to worry yourself. You can't have another heart scare. Ronald could not cope." Harry was laying the table at the time and looked up, "In answer to your questions, he's okay. He drinks more than he should, but it's hard to take it away from him. It gets him through his nightmares.. He plays football, showers regularly, eats breakfast most mornings.." She smiled gratefully, she knew that her boy was in the best possible place. "And he's thinking of getting a recovery dog, someone to be there when he wakes up from his nightmares. It means regular exercise at least.." Mrs. Weasley raised an eyebrow as Harry spoke, "What did you say dear? A recovery dog? What is one of those?" Hermione smiled, "It's a dog that is trained to respond to nightmares, situations that might terrorise the owner.. They're being bred by the Ministry at the moment, I was offered one a week or two ago but I don't have the time.. Ronald however." The older woman chuckled, dusting her hands off against her apron. "Ronald with a dog! He could barely look after a rat.." As soon as the words were out of her mouth she regretted it, but it would do her no favours to dwell on the past.

* * *

An hour or so they were all seated at the table, Mr and Mrs Weasley, Ron, Harry and Hermione. Mrs Weasley had put on a roast dinner, with roast potatoes, green beans, stuffing, carrots, red cabbage, sweetcorn, sausages, pigs in blankets ( a muggle favourite of Hermione's ) and a jar of homemade redcurrant sauce. Hermione picked up the serving spoon and dug into the roast potatoes and Mrs Weasley spoke up, "So you three, are you dating? You know you can't live in that house together forever." Ron chuckled, "Told you Hermione." She screwed her face up, she hated when Ron was right. Harry thought he better answer the question, considering his friends were preoccupied. "Not yet, Mrs Weasley. But I'm considering dating again." He'd glamoured the tattoo on his wrist - he wasn't in the mood or the mind set for a Weasley inquisition. "You are? Oh what delightful news! How wonderful is that Arthur?" She turned to him and smiled, Mr Weasley had a mouthful of green beans, but he quickly swallowed and nodded. "Yes that's great news, Harry. Good for you." Mrs Weasley couldn't contain her excitement, "Hermione, Ronald? What about you two?" They both looked at each other and Mrs Weasley jumped to conclusions - "You're back together? Oh thank Merlin! You were always better together, all of this tiptoeing, I can't deal with it. Oh I'm so" Hermione cut her off. "No.. Sorry, we're .. we're better apart."

An awkward silence followed, and Ron couldn't bare it much longer so he piped up. "I heard the Patil twins have started a dating business, blind dates, you know. I think it's called 'All you need is love, potions.' Hermione raised an eyebrow, "Oh it would be like them to start some superficial business when we're all trying to pick up the pieces after the war." Harry rolled his eyes, "Maybe they're trying to make people smile again. You know Hermione, love can do that to you." She sighed and stabbed her sausage. "Well why don't the three of you sign yourselves up for it? You never know, you might find the one. How lovely would that be?" After a while, they had all relented. Even Hermione, who in her words didn't believe in love, or love at first sight. But Harry knew she was lying. He remembered when her and Ron had broken up, she was a mess..

 _Hermione was curled up in her bed, grateful that it was her room alone now. The soft, plush interiors didn't suit Ron anyway, the walls were papered with a textured paisley pattern in creams and accents of gold. There was a small balcony out, which faced the garden, but she seldom used it and instead kept pot plants on it that she intended to use for sleeping potions without the addictive side effects. Against one wall there was a woven tapestry that had hung in her childhood home, and against the wall was her bed, it was a large princess and the pea bed with a soft velvet ottoman at the foot of it. She had more pillows than humanly necessary and she had a faux fur throw that she was currently wrapped up in. Opposite her bed was a grand fireplace with a tv above it ( one of the main things she missed in the wizarding world. ) She had two chairs with were painted to change colour depending on her mood, and her walk in wardrobe was made of soft pine, with floor length mirrors. It had ball gowns upon ball gowns on one side, for all of the things she has had to attend as one of the famous trio. It had gotten sickening, but she quite enjoyed getting dressed up.  
She heard a soft knocking on the door and knew that it was Harry, Ron's knock was much more bashful, and he wouldn't be brave enough to knock on her door after breaking up with her. "Come in." she sniffled, putting her hair up into a messy bun atop her head, and rubbing her eyes. Harry walked in and looked at her like you would look at a wounded puppy. "Hey. I heard.. about you and Ron." She smiled briefly at hearing his name and then remembered they weren't together anymore. "We decided it was better we stayed friends. It's fine." She muttered, the words coming out far more harshly than she intended. "Well clearly it isn't 'fine'.. Otherwise you wouldn't be crying." She stroked her throw and it purred gently, "Fuck you Ron. Your blasted charms. Why charm anything thats remotely furry, to purr anyway?!" She was angry, and Harry didn't want to be caught in the cross fires of that. "I know he hurt you." Harry sat on the ottoman, facing Hermione, "But he's grieving, he lost his brother." Hermione had had enough. "Yeah, and I lost my fucking parents." Harry blanched, "What?" She sighed, too soon, she thought, too soon. "Well you know I oblivated any memories of me to protect them? They still got them. They killed them, whilst I was under the Cruciatus curse.. Brought them right in front of me, they didn't even know who I was.. and they killed them right in front of me." _

* * *

That night, when they returned to their house, they each sat on a different piece of furniture in the living room and filled out their application forms for 'All you need is love, potions.' "What's the worst that could happen, eh?" Hermione shook her head, "You're not allowed to say that anymore Ronald. You nearly had us killed after the last time." Harry smirked, "Or worse, expelled."


	5. Chapter 5

Hermione was stood in her walk in wardrobe, she had five dresses hung up with their matching shoes and then on the other side she had a jumpsuit and a posh shirt that she could wear jeans with. She was currently stood in her dressing gown, whining. "HARRY!" She shouted for the fourth time, she really didn't like going on dates, and she didn't even know this guy's name. Harry finally walked into Hermione's room, "What?" She turned round and smiled sweetly, "I don't know what to wear." He rolled his eyes, looking at all of her options. "Where are you going?" She looked at the note in her hand and read off the address, "Restaurant and Lucky bar." Harry looked perplexed, "The one on Shaftesbury Avenue, lots of theatres and muggle clothes shops, well it's down one of the alleyways. It's a rich mans leaky cauldron basically Harry."

He shrugged, "Sounds nice..?" He couldn't gauge her reaction to her blind dates choice of restaurant, but he didn't even want to think about his date. He was going to a tea room in Hogsmeade, he figured that's where the guy lived or worked? Hogsmeade wasn't a particularly exciting date destination, but it wouldn't take long to apparate there. Hermione had put a soft, striped t-shirt dress on, it fell just below her knees and had capped sleeves so she didn't have to worry about the scar on her shoulder showing. She got a black, distressed cropped denim jacket out of the wardrobe and pulled it on, rolling up the sleeves. "Heels or no heels?" She looked at the weather and determined that it would be boots - as per usual, it was raining heavily in London. Autumn was closing in quickly, and Hermione couldn't wait to see the colours of the trees in Regents Park change. She popped on tan pixie boots and grabbed her tan, suede fringed bag. "Do I look ravishing?" She teased, pouting her red lips like a model.

* * *

Ron stood at the bar, waiting for his date to arrive. He'd ordered her a Lockheart cocktail, named after the one and only Gilderoy. They were popular back in the 90's when he was at the height of his fame, but people still drank them today. A girl with shoulder length jet black hair walked into the bar, she was wearing a tight red cocktail dress, tall heels and dark eyeshadow. She was hot, but she really wasn't his type and he internally cursed the Patil's for setting him up with someone who he was not going to get on with. "Are you Ron?" She smiled, putting her clutch down on the bar counter, "Yep, that's me. What's your name?" he did his best to smile, but this situation could not have been more awkward. "Mathilde." He raised an eyebrow, he swore he heard a French accent in there. "So, I ordered you a Lockheart." She laughed, it was sweet and subtle, he couldn't tell if she was happy or internally mocking him. "Thank you, but I don't drink," he held back the temptation to roll his eyes. _Of course she doesn't drink_. He whipped out his wand and quickly charmed it to remove the alcohol, it ran out of her glass in a wisp and he put the shot into his beer. "There." She smiled politely and took the glass, taking a sip. Her lips smacked together, "I'm impressed. Not as bad as I thought it would be." Ron had to ask. "Are you French?" She raised an eyebrow, "Yes, but normally people don't pick it up.." He smirked, "My brother married a french woman, Fleur Delacour. I don't know if you know her." "I went to school with Gabrielle! Her younger sister, we were good friends through our younger years. But then I moved to London and Gabrielle moved to Paris. We sort of lost touch." Ron smiled, "So why did you move to London?"

The waitress seated them at a table, and Ron took Mathilde's chair out for her. "Did you go to Beauxbatons then?" She nodded, taking a sip of her drink, "Best years of my life, I'm training to be a professor there soon." Ron was surprised, it would be unusual to do your training for a French academy in London. "That's strange. I thought you'd do your training in France?"

She nodded, "I am."

"When do you leave?"

"Next week."

* * *

Harry was wearing casual jeans with a white shirt and a blue v-neck pullover. He had brown brogues on his feet and he'd grabbed his mac and scarf because he knew that Hogsmeade was cruel in the Autumn. Once he had apparated to Hogsmeade he felt strangely on edge, the village was eerily quiet and some of the stores were still empty, even though the village was one of the first places to be fixed up. He didn't like being back here, so hopefully his date would hurry up and they could get into the tea rooms, it might be better than the streets. He leant against the wall, looking around, he had so many memories of this place.. But he couldn't pin it down to a happy one, it was shrouded in sorrow and loss. Harry looked up towards where the castle was nestled, the fog lingering around the turrets.

It was an hour after they were due to meet when an owl came flying down and perched on his shoulder, dropping a note into his hand. In curly handwriting wrote:

 _I realise this was supposed to be a blind date but I got them to tell me who you were and I'm no longer interested, my apologies._

Harry cursed and threw the note on the ground, "Dickhead. I came to bloody Hogsmeade of all places, just to get stood up." He rubbed his hands together from the cold and gave the tawny owl a treat, "Might as well make some use out of this ridiculous trip." Harry trudged up the path to Hogwarts, finally he made it to the castle and his anger dissipated. It felt like home. The Ravenclaw quidditch team were out practicing, and Madam Hooch, who must have been nearing 70, nodded to him. He saluted back. Hagrid had rebuilt his hut, now with a paddock attached so that he could look after the mysterious creatures 24/7. Merlin knows why but it kept him happy, Harry decided on visiting Hagrid some other time - he was only here for a fleeting visit after all.

The castle was cold and quiet, but it still had that buzz of energy flying around it. He made his way up one of the staircases, and staggered slightly when he felt it move, "You'd think they'd have gotten rid of that by now." He muttered, forgetting that the portraits were sarcastic buggars. "You've only been gone 5 years!" "Yeah! You can say things like that when you're our age!" He laughed, "Hopefully I never get to be your age. Is Mc Gonnagol in today?" They all nodded, "Mhm, same place."

He was just leaving Mc Gonnagol's office when he bumped into Malfoy. _Wait, what?_ "Harry?" The blonde man raised an eyebrow quizzically, "What are you doing here?" Harry laughed, "I could say the same about you.." Draco smirked softly, "I'm on the board. I'm the Chancellor for education within the Ministry, so I co-ordinate all the wizarding schools in the country." Harry's jaw hit the floor, "You.. Are the chancellor for education…? Education?" he was dumbfounded, again. "So anyway, Potter, what are you doing here? I haven't seen you leave the house in weeks." Harry blushed, "I was on a blind date." Draco nodded slowly, "At Hogwarts..?" The dark haired man shook his head, shoving his hands into his back pockets nervously. "No. In Hogsmeade, the guy cancelled when he found out who I was.." Draco had started walking by now, and made a gesture for Harry to follow. "We were meant to go to some crappy tea room and I travelled all the way up from London for this date. Then he goes and cancels." Draco was surprised to hear that Harry was dating a man, he always thought Harry was straight. _Stop being a fool Draco, you thought you were straight._ "You deserve better. He would've had an amazing time with you, you know that. Sometimes people are just douches." Harry laughed, "Douches?" Draco shook his head, "Hobgoblins, trolls. Whatever you want to call them." "Hey! I knew a very nice troll once, I'll have you know." This is what Harry had wanted, a bit of light hearted fun, maybe some flirting. He hadn't wanted anything serious from his date, yet his date ran a mile when he saw the name.

They decided to get the train from Hogsmeade to Kings Cross, it wasn't the Hogwarts Express, but it was nice none the less, and it had an impressive catering carriage. "So what prompted you to apply for Chancellor of Education, Draco?" When Harry looked at Draco, he swore he could see right into his soul. He looked hurt, broken. Harry wanted to desperately fix him, to show him that he forgave him for all of the things he had done in the past.. "Well, when Scorp was born I looked into education, where he would go until he was 11 and could go to Hogwarts. You won't know this obviously, but pre-Hogwarts, there are limited places at schools and sending Scorpius away to boarding school at 5 just didn't sit well with me or Tori." Harry had never heard him speak so affectionately, about anything. He really cared for his son, and it seemed he still cared for his ex-wife. "So I spoke to other young parents in the area and asked where they would be sending their children, and they all seemed unsure too. I went to the Ministry to see who was Chancellor for Education, and the position was vacant. Nobody else wanted the job so I ended up being the only person they interviewed. They were wary hiring me of course, and I was scared, really scared to take the position and fuck it up. So many young witches and wizards deserve the right to an education, a proper education. What if I couldn't handle the role?" Harry nodded, scanning his eyes over the chocolate frog card, he stashed it in his pocket to check with Ron later. "But here I am, still in the position 2 years later with a contract for another 8 years. It's the sort of job that if you do it well, you'll never leave. I hope I don't have to."

* * *

The two men went their separate ways when they left the station, Draco had to pick up Scorpius and Harry headed home. Hermione was curled up on the couch watching some 'David Attenborough' documentary on whales. They never seemed as interesting as all of the creatures the wizarding world had, but Hermione liked it. It reminded her of her parents. "Hey, how did your date go Mione?" She shrugged, "It was alright. He works in finance at Gringotts. One of the only ones that's not a Goblin." Harry chuckled, "But let me guess, he acted like a goblin." She nodded quickly, "He was so boring. It's horrible. I know. But he was. He talked about money all evening, but the food was nice and he paid. He only realised when we were leaving who I was, so that was refreshing. How was your date?"


	6. Chapter 6

Click. Clop. Click. Clop. Hermione ran down the wooden staircase in her stiletto's, grabbing her briefcase from the bottom of the stairs and sliding the documents that she'd been working on last night into it. Last night, after the goblin boy as Harry and her had nicknamed him. Her appetite had slowly started to return, and Mrs. Walters was now sending over more food than ever before, because in her words 'the winter was drawing in' and they needed to eat more. Hermione had laughed and informed her that they don't hibernate, but Mrs. Walters had waved her hand and gone again.

"Hello…" she raised an eyebrow, looking at the girl sat at her dining table. She was wearing Ron's old Gryffindor jersey, _the one I wasn't even allowed to touch_. "And you are?" She smiled politely, getting up and putting the cereal bowl into the sink. "Mathilde, nice to meet you." The girl with the jet black hair and the slim figure and the scarless skin hugged her and then skipped upstairs. Hermione was seething. She went to get some milk and the bottle was empty. Mathilde had put an empty bottle of milk back in the fridge. "Who does that?" Hermione growled, throwing the bottle into the recycling. There was no more milk left. She looked at the clock, "Shit!" She grabbed her briefcase and umbrella and ran to the floo, disappearing off into the ministry.

* * *

Hermione walked into her office, there were key notes flying around everywhere and the low buzzing noise was driving her insane. Her hair was frazzled and she had tried to control it with a hair bobble, but it hadn't really worked. She had a white shirt on tucked into a grey pencil skirt and she'd rolled up her shirt sleeves slightly, a quill was sticking out of her hair, and Hermione forgot when she put it there. She was ravenous but she knew how to cope without food so just pushed through the hunger, writing documents out onto Ministry paper. She was stressed. All of the paperwork from Crux's incident was piling up, and then several other incidents had happened over the weekend and a grocer in London had come into contact with a wizarding crate of apples that self shined. She hoped that he hadn't realised, but apparently this grocer was very diligent: he noticed.

Just as Hermione got up to go get coffee from a little muggle place around the corner from the Ministry, a tall, athletic man stumbled through her office door. He had prominent cheek bones and a little stubble across his face, he was wearing jeans and a Puddlemere jersey. And then he spoke. Hermione had to sit down, her knees had gone weak. "Hi!" She chuckled, shaking his hand, which was calloused and at least twice the size of her delicate petite hands. "Hermione Granger." He smiled awkwardly, "I know. Written on the door. And lots of other places. Oh, crap I'm Oliver Wood. Puddlemere seeker."

"Mr Wood, what can I help you with?" He quickly checked her out, and she smirked softly. Very aware of the fact that she looked like she'd been dragged through a hedge backwards.

"Oliver, please."

She nodded, "Fine. Oliver. Anyway, what can I help you with? I was just about to go get coffee, can you walk and talk about this or is it strictly a closed door conversation?"

His burly scottish accent spoke up, "Oh nay, we can go get coffee."

She stood up and found one of her heels, sliding her foot in. She must've kicked the other one in some random direction when she was shouting at her intern, "Dammit." she muttered, she looked like an idiot. He stooped down and fished a nude heel from under an armchair, "Is this what you're looking for, Miss?" She grinned, and he swore he felt his heart skip a beat. _Get a grip, Wood._ She took the heel from his hand and slipped her other foot into it, adding 4 inches to her height, she came just 2 inches underneath his height. "Is it still raining?" He shook his head and she grabbed her purse, "Excellent. Now, what is the problem?"

She walked out of her office and Oliver followed, "Well.. I may have flown a team of 16 Quidditch players over a field and I didn't realise but it had a load of farmers in it.." She was boiling with rage, "And when you say 'may' you mean 'did'. Right?" She looked at him, her eyebrows raised.

They had made it out onto the muggle streets of London, and she cast a silencing charm around them wandlessly."Did they see you? Did you stop? How quickly were you flying? And Oliver, why the fuck were you flying through the muggle countryside?!" She quickly blurted out questions as she walked into the coffeeshop. "As anyone ever told you you're cute when you're angry?" She placed her order, and looked at Oliver. "No. You can't flirt your way out of this one, answer my questions."

"They might have seen us, we didn't stop. We were probably flying at 60 or 70 mph, and we've been flying through the muggle countryside for a couple weeks… Normally the cloud doesn't clear and we get away with it."

She huffed. "Is your own training grounds not big enough for you?!"

"Well it is, but it's a nice warm up to get the cool air running around us.." He looked embarrassed. _Rightly so._ Oliver went to pay for Hermione's coffee and she put her hand out, stopping him.

She gave the woman the right amount of change and they walked out of the coffee shop, "So you're independent, feisty, gorgeous as hell.. Want to go for a date?" He smirked, she spat her coffee out on the pavement. "What?" _Hermione, get a grip. Of course you're going to go on a date with this gift from God._ "You went to Hogwarts! That's why I recognised your name! What, 4 years above me?" She grinned, puzzle solved. "Is that a yes?" She shrugged, biting her lip. "Pick me up, tomorrow night. 7 o'clock? And I'll sort your damn farmer problem out - just stick to your training grounds."

* * *

Hermione finally got home at 8.30pm that night, thankful to walk into a house that smelt of cooking. She didn't think she'd be able to cook after the day she'd had. "Ron! Harry! I'm home!" She walked into the kitchen to find Harry cooking stir-fry with a separate pan for the chicken so that hers could be vegetarian. Her boys did look after her. "I've got good news.." She smiled, kicking her heels off and leaning against the work surface. "Oh yeah, what?" Harry smiled, a genuine smile. He'd seen Draco and Scorpius today and that always put him in a good mood. "I'm going on a date." She waited nervously for their reaction. Harry slapped her on the back, "Way to go Mione!" and Ron spat his whiskey on the floor. "A DATE? Who the bloody hell are you going on a date with?" Hermione stepped away, "Well. If you really must know. Oliver Wood, the Puddlemere seeker." Ron looked at her like she had nargles dancing around her head. "You?"

Hermione was furious, "Yes me. Why? Does it surprise you? Am I not good enough for him or something?" Harry put a charm over the dinner and tried to get out of the kitchen, his attempt was unsuccessful.

"You know Ronald. If you had a problem with me dating then why are you allowed to bring home floozy's and have them traipse around in that bloody Quidditch jersey that you wouldn't even let me touch, let alone wear!"

"Actually Hermione, Mathilde isn't some floozy! She was a nice girl! And I never let you wear that damn Quidditch jersey because I knew you'd stretch it!"

 _What the fuck._ "WHAT THE FUCK RON? Are you calling me fucking fat? Because I'll have you know that I would forgo meals for you two imbeciles when we were hiding out, just so that you two would eat properly!" Harry looked at her, "I'm not an imbecile!" She rolled her eyes.

"I wasn't calling you fat and you know it! You're just making stuff up now!"

"Oh Merlin, because I'm known for my lying characteristics." She threw one of her heels at him but he ducked and it hit the cupboard. Hermione couldn't take it any longer and she ran upstairs, tears streaming down her face. She got into her room and slammed the door shut, locking it indefinitely.

* * *

The owl in the corner of the room was sitting there for Hermione, it had a note in its beak and she went over to it, even in her fit of rage, she still couldn't deny her curiosity. She fed the owl a treat and unravelled the scroll. It read:

 _Hermione,_

 _I'm sorry for today, I know I have caused more trouble and stress on your department and it's probably difficult enough running a department at 22. I have a date in mind, but I need to know if you're allergic to anything._

 _Your favourite law-breaker, Oliver X_

The note even smelled of him. God, she hadn't even been on a date and 30 words from him had her calm and infatuated. She quickly scrawled back,

 _Don't worry, I can handle it. I'm allergic to wildflowers._

 _Your favourite control freak, Hermione X_


	7. Chapter 7

"Mum?" "Dad?" Hermione called out, and then she screamed in agony, her body writhing around amongst the sheets. "NO! DONT YOU DARE! YOU CANT! MUM IM SO SORRY! MUM!" She called for her again, but they stared at her blankly, they had no idea who she was. And then they were killed, the shot of green light hit their bodies and they flopped, limp, hanging in mid air. The life had been sucked out of them, and in their last moments they didn't even know who she was. Hermione tried to open her eyes, try not to look at the scene unfolding in her nightmare. But she couldn't wake herself up. They hit her with a cruciatus curse, asking her question after question, "Where is Harry? What do you know? What is a whore like you, doing for the ministry? Where are you hiding your army? What ammunition do you have?" She sobbed and shook her head, they fired hex after spell, but she wouldn't speak. Their hands crawled over her skin and she sat, limp. "I WON'T FUCKING TELL YOU SO GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME!"

Ron and Harry had been stood outside of her door, trying to open it, but she'd locked it with one of her unique spells. They had no idea how to crack the coding. Ron turned to Harry, "Well we've got to do something! She's screaming!" Harry gritted his teeth, "Maybe if you two hadn't been arguing she'd be fine!" Ron rolled his eyes, "Oh you know full well that she wouldn't! You know this isn't my fault, you just want me to feel bad. Well, congratulations! I felt bad when it was happening."

Harry sighed, "We could climb through the window." So, the two of them walked downstairs and went into the garden, the ground floor had trellising against one wall, but after that they were going to have to scale the building. Somehow. "Me first?" Ron shrugged, nodding. "Yeah, ok mate." He gave Harry a leg up, and he climbed the trellis , he had his hands gripping a window ledge and he hung from there. "Ron, mate where do I go from here?" Ron stepped back and looked at the house. Considering it was 2 am, they weren't doing bad. "Stand on the window ledge and then there are a few bricks sticking out of the house's facade. Harry followed Ron's actions and saw Hermione's balcony, he managed to stand on it and unlocked the balcony doors with a simple spell. "Ron, I'll go unlock the bedroom door from the inside." He called back down, before running over to Hermione and shaking her awake. "Mione.. Mione, you had a nightmare. Come on. Wake up." Ron was at the bedroom door by now, and Harry unlocked it quickly, Hermione was still asleep. "I can't wake her up. What do we do?" Ron blanched, "Uh, I dunno! What do muggles do?" Harry shrugged and Ron ran to the bathroom, "COLD WATER! THEY GET COLD WATER!" Ron accio'ed a bucket and filled it with cold water, throwing it over Hermione.

She spluttered and woke up. "Wh-what?" She mumbled, and then felt her hair, it was dripping wet, and so was her face. She was freezing and even her throw was shivering. Ron muttered lumos and a soft white light filled the room. "Why am I wet?" Harry and Ron looked at each other andshrugged. "Dunno." Harry kicked Ron and he dropped the bucket. She climbed out of bed and muttered a spell, remaking her bed. "What was your nightmare about Mione?" Ron smiled, trying to be helpful. "I'm still angry at you." He sighed, "I'm sorry. I wasn't calling you fat, and I'm sorry about being so surprised that you're going on a date with Wood. I felt a bit inferior. I mean, little old me and then him. Upgrade, much?" She laughed softly, "Ronald. Don't be so hard on yourself." He shrugged. "Friends?" She nodded, "Of course, you idiot." Harry grinned like a little kid, "Ey, this is what I like to see!" He tried pulling them in for a group hug, but they weren't having any of it. "Look, what's the time?" She scanned the room, looking for her clock. "It's 2.30 am." Harry rubbed his eyes, he was tired but the adrenaline and kicked in earlier. "Let's all go back to sleep then, you know you're collecting your dog later, Ron?" Hermione was back in her usual mothering mode, "Yes Mum." He teased, she threw one of her feather pillows at him as they both left the room.

* * *

They walked out of the house the following morning, ready to go collect the puppy from the Ministry rehoming centre. Hermione was wearing black skinny jeans with her tan pixie boots, a white layered top and a chunky knit grey scarf with a cropped black jacket. She'd grabbed her bucket bag that she had charmed to be able to hold an infinite amount of things, and she had sunglasses keeping her hair back. It was a brisk Autumn day, on the verge of winter, but the sun shone brightly in London. Ron had a band t-shirt for 'the Blibbering Humdingers' and a dark flannel shirt. He hadn't dressed for the weather. Harry chuckled, "Have you thought about a name for this dog yet Ron?"

"I thought they were already named!" He groaned, "Um.. What's a good dog name?"

Hermione laughed, "Well what do you like?"

He laughed, "Whiskey."

"Ronald. You can't call a dog Whiskey." They walked past the row of houses, Harry looked longingly at Draco's house but there hadn't been any sign of him since they took the train back from Hogwarts together.

"Why can't I call a dog whiskey? It's kind of growing on me."

Harry laughed, "Maybe something Quidditch related? Snitch? Bludger?"

They disappeared off into the Ministry, "I can't call a bloody golden retriever, Bludger."

"Ok, whiskey it is."

* * *

Ron walked into the handling area, where he presumed, his puppy was bounding around, with a dog toy in his mouth. "Hi, I'm here to collect a golden retriever." Katie Bell looked up, "Hey, I didn't think I'd see all of the famous trio." She teased.

"Katie? Katie Bell right?" Harry was astounded, "You're the puppy handler?"

She nodded, "Yeah. I've only been doing it a few months but I love it. So how have you guys been faring?"

"Yeah we're good.. Whiskey is going to live with all three of us, but he's Ron's." Hermione said.

"Well Whiskey is actually a she, just to let you know." Ron was stood staring at her, she was beautiful. _Fuck, when did that happen?_ Hermione kicked him, muttering. "Ronald, speak."

"Oh! Um sorry! Um, right okay. Anything I need to know? Dog stuff?" She raised an eyebrow at him, "Have you got her a lead?" He nodded quickly and Hermione took it out of her bag, "Right okay. Well she has one of our collars, but you'll need to replace it within 48 hours of her being at your house. The chip will be in the collar, so if she leaves your house without a lead on, and you're not aware of it then you'll get an alert. Golden retrievers don't really have a tendency to run off but we had so many problems with the Spaniels at first." She laughed, reminiscing.

"Right. Food? What does she eat?" Ron nervously asked questions, scared he was going to fuck this up. She rolled her eyes, "Ron, chill. I've got the documents here and a guide book on how to look after them, but Whiskey is for looking after you, you war hero." Ron blushed and mumbled, "Well I didn't do much." Harry laughed, "You could say that again." Katie was wearing denim skinny jeans, converse and a grey t-shirt which was oversized, she had an apron wrapped around her waist with the Ministry logo emblazoned on the corner of it, Whiskey tried to jump up and lick the apron, but just tumbled over instead. Katie laughed and took a treat from her pocket. "Here girl, Whiskey. Whiskey," she sat still and picked up her paw, quickly eating the treat.

"WOAH. That is cool! Can I try that?" Ron held up a treat for Whiskey and she held up her paw, she quickly ate the treat again and then went to nuzzle up to Ron. "Someone's got a favourite." Katie said, smiling. "Uh me? Pff, I guess so." He blushed again and picked up Whiskey, instantly falling in love with her.

* * *

"So, Whiskey, this is your new home!" Ron and Whiskey were the first ones through the front door, followed by Hermione. But Harry had hung back to talk to Draco.

"Hey stranger." Harry smiled, going up to him. Draco smirked, unbuttoning his grey suit jacket. "Hello. How've you been?"

Harry nodded, "I've been okay. Taking each day as it comes. You?"

"Busy, frightfully busy. One of the primary schools had a fire caused by the pre-schoolers and two children almost died and we've had to keep it out of the papers but it's been awful. Turns out the pre-schooler got hold of a wand and started playing around with it, didn't know what it was doing. So I had to go speak to the people in charms and see if we could get a locking, thing of some sort enabled onto the teachers wands, and fast." He didn't realise but he'd needed to get it off of his chest. "I've not seen Scorp properly all week. I have this great need to be an amazing dad for Scorpius and then I go and fuck it up anyway because I'm working so hard all the time."

"You are a good dad Draco. You love that boy unconditionally, and you can't help it. You care about education, about young people. And I get that. You want young witches and wizards to grow up and be taught how to be good wizards and witches.. We can't let what happened happen again because of corruption within education and the ministry," Harry sighed, squeezing Draco's arm. "Scorpius is two years old, he sleeps, he burps, he eats. He talks a little bit but he doesn't do much, and he won't remember if you worked really hard that one week in October."

Draco felt the electricity sear through his body when Harry touched him. "Thank you. I've got to go. Scorp is inside in his play pen, thank you again." Draco quickly ran inside, and shut the door. He went over to his son who was happily playing, "Oh Scorpius, what am I doing? Flirting and falling for Harry Potter of all people.." Draco checked his schedule for the week ahead, "I haven't got time for this, for anyone but you in my life right now.."


	8. Chapter 8

Hermione sat on her bed, giggling like a school girl. They'd settled Whiskey in and she could hear Ron laughing and playing with the puppy. She was sat in the outfit she had on for collecting the dog, she charmed the stray hairs off of it and added a little make-up. She thought she looked pretty hot if she was honest, but in a relaxed way. There was a note on her bed from Oliver, that the owl who visited last night had brought when they were out. It was attached to a red balloon sat on her balcony, with a box. The box had contained the note, and a small yellow rubber duck with a hook attached to it. The note read:

 _Hopefully this lays some sort of clue as to where I'm taking you._

 _Your favourite law-breaker, Oliver X_

She checked her watch again, 6.55 pm. "Eeek!" She felt like a school girl, well. Technically she never did any of this as a school girl, and fought for most of her school career, but still. This was exciting. Hermione ran downstairs, grabbing her thick coat from her door and quickly checking herself out in the mirror. _Damn,_ she bit her lip. She walked into the living room and smiled widely, "How'd I look?" They both smirked, "Like a million galleons, Mione. Have a good date." Ron had learned compassion from Whiskey in two hours. "You look gorgeous." Harry said, with the upmost sincerity.

Knock. Knock.

"Shit! He's here!" She ran to the door, and Whiskey did too - so of course Ron followed. Oliver stood on the door step, smiling. He was greeted by all four of them awkwardly encountering the narrow hallway. "Hey..? I didn't realise you still lived with these hobgoblins."

Harry raised an eyebrow, "Don't worry, we've missed you too, Wood."

Ron laughed, "Get her home by 10."

"Oh I promise, I'll look after your girl." Hermione stepped into the brisk October evening and rubbed her hands together, she wandlessly accio'd her gloves and slid them on, "Ready?" That Scottish accent still had her weak at the knees. "Ready." She nodded, shutting the front door.

* * *

They had been chatting effortlessly for a while, but for all Hermione could tell, they were wandering around the streets of London. "Sorry, I have to ask. Where are we going?" Oliver grinned, "That one is a surprise."

"I loved my present by the way. The duck?"

He chuckled, a blush creeping across his face. "Did you not figure out where we going?" She shook her head, shyly. "The note was a riddle, you love solving puzzles right?"

"Yes! How did you know?" Hermione raised an eyebrow, giggling.

"When you figured out my name, you looked so happy." He laughed, and she saw a fairground in the distance.

"Is that hyde park? The Hyde Park fairground? Are we going to the Hyde Park fairground?" Hermione grinned, hitting Oliver's arm, "NO WAY!"

"You pack a punch little lady! Owch.." Oliver laughed, nodding. "I didn't think you'd be this excited…"

"My parents used to take me every year.. I remember the last time I went I was 10, the year before I left for Hogwarts.. And my whole life just changed." He took her hand and squeezed it, it felt like home. It was everything she needed and more. "Tell me about your parents?"

She blushed, "You want to know? I could talk about them for hours." He nodded, "Everything."

So she did, she told him about her 5th birthday when her father came in with a rabbit and she found out she was allergic, she talked about how hard her parents worked for her to have the best life she could possibly have. She talked about how confused they were when she got her letter, how distant they became until she ultimately had to obliviate their memories.. "So you can never see them again?" There were tears in her eyes and she let go of his hand, drying her eyes. "Well, my parents got killed by the death eaters during the war." He stopped her, looking down at her. "Hey.. I had no idea." She shrugged, "No, not many people do. I keep it to myself really, there's enough in the tabloids." He sighed and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight to his chest. "I'm so sorry Hermione."

* * *

They walked into the fairground, Oliver had his arm wrapped around her shoulder and Hermione couldn't wipe the smile off her face. They tagged the wristbands on and Hermione looked up. "Where first?"

"The ghost train?" Hermione nodded quickly and they made their way to the ghost train. The fairground looked beautiful, the way the lights shone brightly in the cool dark evening, the vintage stalls with the hook a duck, coconut shy and the rest. You could hear the classic tunes of the fairground and the squealing children, people were eating candy floss and caramel apples. Hermione couldn't imagine a better date, her mind never wandered to work once, even though the paperwork was stacking up and she would be back there in a short 48 hours.

* * *

"This is perfect." Hermione smiled softly, cosying up to Oliver on the ferris wheel. She looked out through the metal bars, and Oliver grinned. "You look beautiful tonight by the way. I like seeing you happy." Hermione looked at him and bit her lip, he leaned in to kiss her and she reached up, kissing his lips softly. Her lips curled up into a small smile and Oliver broke away. "So, tell me about you. Your childhood."

Oliver shrugged, "There's not much to tell really. I was an only child, I grew up in the Wood manor.. It's where we were going to go for our date today, there's a wild flower meadow there over looking the lake and it's really beautiful there at sunset. It's where I learnt to fly. My dad got me a broom when I was seven and he put me on it and just pushed me. I didn't know what I was doing so I kicked at the ground and I went hurtling off. Right over the fucking lake." They got off the ferris wheel, and Oliver took her hand again. "And I kept going until I fell into the mud, and my mum walked down the steps on the lawn. And she stood there, and I'll never forget what she said." He tried to mock his mother's english accent, but it didn't go down well. "I hope you wash that mud off your skin before you come to dinner young man." They were both in fits of laughter, but he had to finish off his story. "I had three broken ribs, dislocated shoulder and I'd broken my broom." Hermione was crying with laughter now and looked up at him, biting her lip. "Want to go back to mine?"

It had started to rain as they walked the streets, and Hermione had tried to insist that they get a taxi but Wood 'didn't trust things with wheels' - "But you trust a _broomstick?_ "

"Well, broomsticks are easy. You're in control of them, of where you're going. With one of those things.." He gestured to a black cab driving away, "Someone else is in charge.. you have to pay for them, they're not quick.." Hermione nodded, laughing. "Not to mention traffic." He raised an eyebrow, "Huh?"

"Oh.. Don't worry." They were soaking wet by now and the soft street lights of Kensington and Chelsea reflected from the puddles, she checked her watch and it was coming up for 11. "Ooh, delivering me back late. You're going to be in trouble." She teased.

He laughed and stopped her in her tracks outside the front door, "Not the only thing I'll be in trouble for." He kissed her gently and she stood on her tiptoes, she was going to have to invest in some heeled boots. He held her waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck lazily. "Tonight was amazing, thank you."

They crept in through the front door and tried to sneak past Ron and Harry, who were both playing with Whiskey. Hermione giggled and they ran upstairs.

* * *

Hermione and Oliver woke up the next morning, Hermione slumped on Oliver's bare chest. Her eyes slowly opened, and her eyelashes brushed against his skin. "Mhm, morning you." He mumbled, he'd been awake a while. "Hey." Hermione whispered, resting on her elbows. "Have you been awake long? She said, pulling her hair up into a messy bun.

"Probably about a half hour. You look so peaceful when you sleep." Oliver tucked a stray curl of her hair behind her ear, "Also, a dog came to find out where you were..?"

She laughed. "That's Whiskey. Ron's dog. They've been breeding dogs at the Ministry specially for looking after war veterans. I don't have time to look after a dog so Ron decided he'd take her instead. You know.. I didn't have a nightmare for the first time in 2 years."

He raised an eyebrow, "Well that's good, right?"

"Oh of course. I was just surprised, if I'd known that the cure was to cuddle up to Oliver Wood, I would've sought you out a long time ago."

"Ah, I'm being used for my medicinal properties. Again." They laughed and he ran his fingers through his hair, "We should be getting up."

* * *

Hermione wandered down into the kitchen, Oliver's shirt was over her body, she'd buttoned up some of it and pulled on fluffy socks. The house was warm but her feet always felt like blocks of ice. Harry and Ron were both sat at the kitchen table when Oliver walked in, wearing pyjama bottoms that he'd accio'ed over. "Morning boys." He smirked, quickly checking Hermione out as she reached for the milk. "I've got it, babe." He grabbed the milk with ease and she kissed his cheek gratefully. Harry and Ron didn't speak. They stared.

"We didn't hear you come in."

"You were playing with Whiskey." Hermione replied nonchalantly.

"I didn't hear you at 2 am." Ron raised an eyebrow, "No nightmare?"

Hermione blushed, "No. I've found the cure," Oliver wrapped an arm around her shoulder and she smiled.

"You still had nightmares when we were together."

"Oh Ronald, don't pity yourself."


	9. Chapter 9

Oliver was around at their townhouse a lot. Harry had started running, and he ran a lot. Hermione worked, a lot. And Ron had Whiskey. The group had found a new routine, if Oliver was over, Hermione would make breakfast for the four of them, Ron would leave to walk Whiskey, Harry would run for as long as Harry wanted. The 'lovebirds' as they'd been nicknamed, were always glad to have the house to themselves anyway..

Harry ran for a few reasons, the tattoo on his wrist was becoming a burden, it pulsed and wriggled whenever it felt like it.. he knew he would have to tell people soon. It wanted to come out. He wanted to come out. He hadn't seen Draco for weeks, and the early setting sun with the cold days and forever falling rain made him think of Draco even more. Harry visited Hogwarts more and more now, he was a substitute professor, and he loved it. They would send an owl and he'd Floo to Mc Gonnogals office. She was always glad to see him, and the students were in awe of him. It was ideal. At first, Harry had hoped that his frequent visits to Hogwarts might mean he would bump into Draco.. But that wasn't the case. He desperately wanted to talk to him, to hear his laugh, watch his smirk.. his eyes.. Harry's feet pounded on the pavement, and he forgot about Draco, so that was the other reason why he ran. He ran to forget Draco, to forget that he was gay. And when Harry would run around London, people didn't recognise him, people didn't take photos of him. He wasn't famous in the muggle world, and he relished in the anonymity.

Ron had had a few visits from Katie, to check how Whiskey was settling in, and after the visits Ron would talk for hours about her. "She's just so beautiful.. and funny and cool and she's so good with Whiskey.." It was like he'd been struck by a love potion, except this was the real Ron speaking. Whiskey found it amusing, she would sit and lick at Ron whenever he stared at Katie, she knew to distract him. The only thing Whiskey couldn't do was speak, and she definitely found her own way around that. Ron had taught her hundreds of tricks, and he loved to show off to the Walters, who raised their eyebrows and gasped in astonishment when Ron got Whiskey to walk on one leg and jump over a car. "Just magic." Mr Walter had been known to say a few times - much to Harry and Ron's amusement.

* * *

It was a calm Sunday morning when the house were all sat around eating breakfast, lazily feeding Whiskey bits under the table, even though Hermione proclaimed she'd "get fat if you feed her human food!" Oliver had stayed over the previous night, and they'd celebrated his Puddlemere win with a muggle game called Monopoly, and a few rounds of butterbeer. Ron only had one. He was trying to combat his alcoholism. The Daily Prophet got dropped into the kitchen by an owl who flew off quickly. "Huh?" Ron said, picking up the paper. "We don't subscribe. Oliver?" He shook his head, "Aye, me neither. Load of trash, if ever I've read." Ron flicked his wand at the paper and it unrolled, on the front page was a picture of Harry running through Hyde Park, and then in a smaller image, a burning pink triangle tattoo that had been zoomed in. It was Harry's tattoo, no one doubted that. The headline read, 'Golden boy is a golden gay!" written by Rita Skeeter. Ron dropped the paper. "Harry.. You better come read this, wild rumours flying around again." He looked pissed, and Harry blanched. He went to pick up the paper and saw the headline, he mumbled it under his breath. "Golden boy is a golden gay.." He held the paper in both hands and looked up at his friends, his family. "I'm sorry." He looked like he could cry at any minute, he knew he would have to come out at some point but he wasn't fucking ready. _Not yet. Not now. Don't do this to me._ "Ron.. Mate.. Promise nothing's going to change with us? I'm the same person, I've not changed. But.. guys. It's true." He shrugged, looking at the floor and he choked up as he said it, "I'm gay."

Ron and Oliver sat at the table, the news was unexpected to say the least. Hermione had jumped up and wrapped her arms around Harry. "Oh Harry. You don't need to worry. Nothing will change, will it boys?" She turned and looked at them, briefly letting Harry go. They didn't answer. "Maybe if you explain to them. Let them ask questions." So Harry sat at the table and they looked up.

Ron sat in an awkward silence for a while, then spoke. "How long have you known?"

"A few weeks. Maybe a month." He didn't mention it was because of Draco and how much Draco made his heart flutter and his blood flowed through his body like electricity whenever he saw Draco.

"And you're sure?" Oliver said, Hermione squeezed his hand.

"Definitely. I've got no choice now have I?" Harry dragged his sweatshirt off and his tattoo was there, blindingly bright.

"Fuck. That was quick. How did the Prophet find out then?" Ron mumbled, hurt that Harry had told someone else before him.

"I don't know. I haven't told anyone about it, really. They must have had a slow news week so gone digging, found this photo and someone must've spotted the triangle. I thought I was safe in muggle London. Clearly I'm not safe from Skeeter anywhere."

And at that point, Owls started delivering letters and cards and news articles from papers who had jumped on the band wagon. Everyone was on board with it. Oliver shut the doors, the windows. Put up extra security guards. "I think you're safe now mate. I'm sure by next week it'll be old news and people will have gotten over it." Hermione kissed his cheek and whispered 'thank you'.

"They have no right to publish that in the paper Harry. I have a journalism wizarding law book in the library somewhere, I'll go get it. We can get the article taken out of the paper. That Skeeter, Merlin she's a bitch." Oliver raised an eyebrow at Hermione, who had gotten up and ran to the library. She was wearing one of Oliver's jerseys with thick leggings and a chunky cream cardigan over the top.

"Sorry mate. For the way we reacted, I'm just shocked. I never thought. After you and Ginny broke up you were devastated." Harry shrugged, "Maybe I was upset that she was leaving to go travelling, and hadn't thought that I'd want to go too? I don't know. Some things are still so confusing."

"It's so weird when I look in the mirror now and I see a different person, I've not changed but I have you know? I see the real me. There's nothing hiding anymore.. I just hope that I don't get more hate mail, I can't stand it. I don't need more. But Skeeter's worded this article as if to say I've been hiding this massive secret from the wizarding world.."

Oliver nodded.. "Well when Skeeter found out about me and Mione, I never thought people would forget about it. They talked about it so much.. People were so shocked, some seemed appalled. All this business of her not being a good 'quidditch wife' - whatever the hell that is. Most of the team are single, and your typical 'quidditch wife' is cringy anyway. They're just so fake. I think people were upset that I wasn't dating August, you know. My team member. So many people paired us together.. I don't think they realise that August is actually my cousin. We used to find it hilarious." Ron and Harry laughed, "No way! She's your cousin?!" Ron couldn't contain his shock. "But she's stunning and flawless and charismatic."

Hermione had walked back in and kissed Oliver gently, "And Ollie's not?"

She placed the book on the table and flicked through the chapters until she got to the section on privacy and secrets, "I knew it! Right here." She pointed to a section that read:

 _Newspapers and other articles of media are not permitted to release details about a witch or wizards sexuality unless they have made a public declaration, the witch or wizard are liable to sue if the media article in question have released details about their sexuality without the consent of the witch or wizard. If the witch or wizard are seen with the tattoo on their wrist, but have not come out publicly then this does not mean that they have come out at all, therefore the witch or wizard in question are still able to sue the public broadcast company and the writer responsible. They are also eligible for a retract of the statement, or a press conference with a newspaper of their choosing, to declare what they wish to declare._

"So, Harry. What do you want to do?"

"Wait. I wasn't ready to come out yet, and I'm not ready to stand in front of a crowd of wizarding journalists and tell them about the most private part of my life. And if I retract the article then I can never come out. No, I'll just leave it. For now.. They can't do much more. Let the people talk and gossip but if they don't know either way then no more damage can be done."

* * *

None of them had left the house that day, because they knew as soon as one of them left the house then Skeeter would find out where they live and be on them like a hawk. Whiskey sensed tension in the house and when she found Harry curled up on his bed crying she would lick him and paw at him to console him.

It was the evening by now and the rain was coming down hard, areas of London had had flash floods but they weren't really aware of what went on in the muggle world. Especially their weather forecasts, considering how inaccurate they were. It baffled most wizards. Oliver and Hermione were curled up on the couch watching a muggle film, Avengers Assemble. Whiskey was curled up in her basket, a blanket wrapped around her and her favourite stuffed toy in her mouth. Oliver occasionally kissed Hermione's hair and she would snuggle up to him. Ron was sat in one of the armchairs opposite, and he didn't really appreciate the PDA. But it was their house too and when Hermione went and stayed at Wood's, both Harry and Ron found they were unable to cope on their own.

Knock. Knock.

Ron raised an eyebrow, and looked out of the window to see who it was. He couldn't see through the sheets of rain. Oliver untangled himself from Hermione, "I'll get it. If they know my house they won't care, if they see you guys.. Well shit could hit the fan." So he walked to the front door and unlocked it, pulling it open. "Draco?" He was stood in a black quarter length jersey, dark jeans and loafers. He had a large umbrella, and messy hair. "Do you need something?" He smiled briefly, "Could I speak to Harry?" Oliver nodded, he had a puzzled expression plastered across his face. "He's up in his bedroom. I'll show you up, but he's not in a very good way…" Draco looked down and stepped inside, shaking out his umbrella and putting it into the stand. "Don't worry, I know the way up." Wood shrugged and walked into the living room, settling back down with Hermione. "Who was that?"

Draco pushed at Harry's door, knocking briefly. Harry sniffled and mumbled, "Come in." Draco walked into his room, he'd taken his loafers off and he looked so at ease. So at home. "Draco?" Harry sat up and grabbed a shirt, he had grey sweatpants on that hung from his athletic physique. "Don't worry about it." He bit his lip, "I saw the paper, Harry."

"So you're definitely out now? Not ashamed anymore?" Harry blushed. On the way back from Hogwarts that day, Harry had confessed to Draco that he was ashamed of who he was.. He was struggling to come to terms with everything. "I'm not ashamed anymore."

Draco sat down on Harry's bed and took his hand, "Why are you crying then?"

"I don't know. I didn't want it to be like this. I thought I'd be happier."

"It'll get easier. I promise. Especially with the right people by your side. I'm sorry."

"What have you got to be sorry for Draco?"

"I've been so distant. And.. I have something I need to say." He took a deep breath and looked at their hands, "When I got back from Hogwarts that day I saw Scorp and I just.. I decided that I had no time for dating. Which is bollocks, because the guy I want to date is right next door. I guess what I'm trying to say is that .. I like you Harry."

Harry blushed and looked at Draco shyly. "I like you too Draco."


	10. Chapter 10

I'd just like to say a quick thank you to beetle126 and MeltingLove, your reviews make me want to write more. Way more. I have so many documents waiting to upload and you guys will love them I know. But I don't want to break your hearts with some of my plot twists..

* * *

Harry was sleeping with Draco curled around him, he'd had a shit couple of days. He hadn't been able to leave his house, but Draco had been there for him. Narcissa had taken Scorpius to the south of France and Draco had taken a week off. Oliver was away at an international tournament but he returned tonight, and boy was Hermione glad. She hadn't spend so long away from him, and it was only two days. The rest of the team who were single were staying out there for a couple more days to party but Oliver didn't fancy it. Ron was still dreaming of Katie.

"Harry? You okay?" Draco rubbed Harry's arm to gently wake him up, he'd been whimpering in his sleep and Draco was worried. "Harry.. Wake up." He slowly came to and Draco inwardly sighed in relief, "You okay?" Harry nodded. "Yeah. I just had a bad dream. I need to get out of the house, it's suffocating me." Draco smiled, "Think you're ready?" He nodded, shifting so he was sitting up. "The weather looks like it's clearing up. We could go for a run. Do you run, Draco?"

He shrugged, "I don't have time, but I can run. Merlin knows, I've done my fair share."

Harry looked at him, and shook his head. "Never thought you'd be the one to make light out of a bad situation. Thank you for staying. Last night and the night before."

Draco smiled, laying on his side. "Where else would I be?" Harry blushed, "Look, I like you. And I want to prove to you that I'm not who I used to be. I've changed. But I also realise that I've hurt you a lot in the past and I need to make up for that."

"Run?"

"Run."

* * *

Draco had gone back to his after the run, and as Harry pushed open the front door he was greeted by Hermione, flitting around like a fairy. "Harry! It's Ron's birthday party today! Did you forget?!"

Harry laughed and shook his head, "I've got my shirt all ironed upstairs, don't worry Mione." He brushed his hand against his forehead, it was dripping with sweat, and he kicked his trainers off in the hallway.

"NO! Get those out of my sight, go put them in your room and have a shower or a bath or SOMETHING!" She gave him the look and he quickly ran upstairs, careful not to touch the decorated banister. It had huge paper garlands entwined around it, fanned out to make large spheres of grey gold and white paper. She'd charmed them so that the paper fluttered slightly in a mystical sense, like there was something hidden deep inside of them. The rest of the house and garden followed the theme of gold, grey and white. Hermione had shrunk their furniture and put it in a box in her room, so the living room had more space. It had two big numbers, a 2 and a 3, painted grey with gold specks all over them, they glowed and acted as an ideal place to take photos. Along the bookshelves between the photo frames there were bell jars with muggle fairy lights inside of them, Ron had said they should've used glowing pixies but Hermione was strongly against that idea. Strangely. There was music playing in the background and the kitchen was charmed so that none of the appliances worked, the fridge was fully stocked with muggle and wizarding alcohol as well as soft drinks. It would replenish automatically from the store in the basement, and the fridge locked shut at midnight. Along the counter tops there were large slates of finger food and bakes that Ron loved, and his birthday cake was stashed away in a box in Hermione's bedroom. On the dining table there were a few board games and a hot chocolate station. Gryffindor red and gold mug's piled high with two jars of hot chocolate powder, a jar of marshmallows, cans of squirty cream and a big tin of fudge pieces, all ready for the winter party. The glass doors had been opened up and as you stepped out onto the deck the garden was alight with balls of light, there was outdoor furniture scattered about and a large wooden crate with gold, white and grey blankets all tightly rolled. Hermione had written a note that said: ' _Please snuggle and huddle' ._ The house looked beautiful and she couldn't wait. Ron better love it, she'd invited all of his family and friends, and Oliver was going to drop by as soon as he got home. Draco was invited too but he decided not to come, he didn't want to stir up trouble with the household, it had been hard enough for Ron and Hermione to stomach the news, let alone the rest of their world.

* * *

Harry was wearing a dark grey shirt, unbuttoned slightly, tucked into black jeans. He hadn't shaved recently and he looked rugged, knackered, but happy. Draco made him happy. And for the first time in a long time he'd slept easy, Draco had said that he could come over as soon as the party was drawing to a close. Go sleep in his bed. Ron didn't really understand their situation, their 'relationship' .. but it made Harry happy and he didn't want anything else for him. He'd already been through enough. Tonight, Ron was wearing a clean cut white button down shirt, black chinos and a grey blazer, the sleeves slightly rolled up. He had a few bands around his wrist from the months that Hermione, Harry and him had spent travelling. Or avoiding the UK.. and the wizarding world. They'd apparated mostly but they'd used some public transport, in some cases it was easier than getting a wizarding visa. Both of the boys were sat on Hermione's bed, chatting and laughing. Ron's birthday was actually mid-week. ( AN. Aware Ron's bday is in March, I've changed it for the purpose of the plot. ) But they both felt so care free and happy, celebrating their boy turning 23. Hermione stepped into her bedroom to do her make up, both of them gasped. She looked stunning. she was wearing a long sleeved emerald t-shirt style body with a large emerald silk skirt, it protruded outwards from her waist and had a large grey sash tied around it in a bow at the back, she had a tulle tutu underneath the skirt but had charmed it so you couldn't see it. it just gave the effect, without the uncomfortable-ness. Hermione was holding a pair of black heels with delicate straps around the ankles and another pair of green heels which had jewels emblazoned onto them. "So, what do we think? Which ones?"

Ron rolled his eyes and laid back down, "Whatever makes you happy."

Hermione pouted, "Ever the helpful one, Ronald."

"The black ones, the green ones clash with the skirt." Harry smiled and stroked the throw happily, it purred in thanks.

She nodded and put the green ones back, sitting down at her dressing table she gently applied her make up, not too much. She controlled her hair and teezed it out, then swept it up into a loose ponytail with curly wisps framing her face, she put her earrings in and a silver necklace with a sparkle to it.

"I think we're ready." She grinned and they took a quick photo, Whiskey was curled up on Hermoine's bed out of the way - exactly where Whiskey wanted to be.

* * *

Neville and Luna knocked on the front door, and quickly walked in. Hermione hugged Luna and smiled at her baby bump, "Don't worry. We have non-alcoholic cocktails too. And there's lots of hot chocolate." Luna grinned, rubbing her bump. Neville looked over and smiled, "Thanks Hermione. Your home is just.. gobswazzling." Luna stroked the walls and cooed over the decorations, whilst Neville and the boys stood in the kitchen with butterbeers, munching on a few canapes. More guests arrived soon after, Mr and Mrs Weasley along with George, who had his best fake smiled plastered on, Bill and Fleur had come too, and Percy. Charlie said that he would pop round later, but there were some problems he had to deal with first. Hannah Abott, Katie Bell and Susan Bones all arrived together, along with another girl who nobody recognised. She had short curly hair, and a slim face with defined features. Others from Hogwarts also arrived such as, Michael Corner, a Ravenclaw who was also in DA, Seamus came with him, and it was very clear that they were an item. The party was well and truly going when Hagrid arrived with a keg of his home brewed butterbeer that they all had to have a glass of.

"Katie! Katie!" Ron ran up to her and grinned, hugging her. He'd had a fair amount to drink and was feeling very confident. "You look amazing!" Katie blushed and smiled, "Uh thanks mate." He nodded quickly and bit his lip, "Hey I was wondering if we could uh go on a .." And at that moment, the girl from earlier that no one recognised walked up to Katie's side, Katie slung an arm around her shoulder. "Ron this is Amy!" Ron smiled and nodded, "Nice to meet you." Amy smirked and nodded, "Likewise."

Katie smiled, "We got engaged at the weekend." Ron turned green and ran into the back garden.

* * *

Oliver had turned up about 2 hours after everyone else, and he and Hermione were snuggled up on furniture in the back garden, they had a blanket around them and were clutching mugs with hot chocolate and a dash of whiskey. "I missed you, you know." Hermione giggled, whispering.

"I missed you too. You should come with me next time.." Oliver smiled, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

"You know I have work commitments. And occasionally your quidditch overlaps those work commitments." Oliver blushed and tried to change the subject hurriedly. Luckily, Seamus and Michael arrived and sat opposite them. "Well I heard you guys were an item, but I had to see it with my own eyes." Seamus grinned, looking at them both.

"Hermione I'm sure you remember Michael." She nodded and shook his hand, "One of my rivals for the brightest person in our year." He grinned and nodded, "As if I was ever going to beat you, you swat." She laughed and introduced Oliver to them.

"So what are you both up to?" Seamus asked, after they'd got settled with a blanket. Hermione rubbed her thumb gently along Oliver's hand, "Well I'm the head of department for Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. And Oliver is keeper for Puddlemere." She smiled proudly, she could certainly say that they were a power couple. Michael raised his eyebrows, "Well done Granger." He said it with the upmost respect for her, she deserved everything she had. They chatted for about an hour, finding out about each other's lives, Hermione resolved for her to meet up the couple when they were in her neck of the woods. She loved them together, Seamus balanced out Michael's need to be strict and sensible, and Michael balanced out Seamus' recklessness.

* * *

Ron was sat with Neville and Luna, Luna had needed to sit down, she was 5 months pregnant and was feeling the effect of hours of dancing. Neville had fought hard to win Luna's affections and convince her to settle down, they lived just outside of Hogsmeade which allowed Neville to teach at Hogwarts easily, he was the other Herbologist teacher alongside Proffessor Sprout. He studied for his NEWTs and completed them 6 months after Hogwarts was repaired. He took a few months off and then had an owl from Sprout one day asking if he was interested in a teaching apprenticeship. 3 years later he was a fully fledged teacher with his own classes and his own greenhouse. It was his dream job, and Luna managed the Quibbler from their house, she had a few writers in a London office, and a few in the office in Hogsmeade but she kept the tabloid small. It was much simpler that way, and now that they had a baby on the way she had finally started to think sensibly. Ron was shocked by the two of them, the craziest people in their year group were probably the only ones who had settled down and had their lives together. The three of them talked about having nightmares and how to deal with them, how Hogwarts was coping, they talked about the little things and Ron promised he wouldn't be a stranger forever. Luna promised that she would let them all know when the baby was born, and they could come up to the ceremony for initiating the little witch/wizard.

"But that's enough about us, mate. How're you doing? This house is cool." Neville grinned and made sure that Luna was okay, he fussed a lot.

"I'm okay. I got a dog. A specially trained one, meant to be able to calm me down in public situations, you know.. talks, press conferences.. Whiskey her name is. She's helping me sober up too. I had a bit of a problem, with alcohol. It's still there but I don't have it for breakfast anymore."

Luna laughed and nodded, "I was exactly the same." Ron gasped, looking at her in amazement. "You were?"

"Yeah. I thought it could fix my problems, but it just made me crazy." Both of the men laughed and gave each other a knowing look.

* * *

The party was winding down and most people had left, Mr and Mrs Weasley had left early on before it got mad, and Bill and Fleur had gone with them. Charlie, George and Percy were staying over and had promised to help clear up the mess in the morning. Hermione and Oliver had seen people out like good hosts and Ron was curled up in a blanket, passed out.

"Alright, I'm just going round to Draco's. I'll be back in the morning." Harry whispered in Hermione's ear and he disappeared off next door. Soon, it was only Oliver and Hermione stood in the living room. They'd cleared up the outside and shut the doors, Oliver had got Ron into bed and the other Weasley's had gone to different guest rooms.

"You know, you look beautiful."

Hermione blushed and looked down, "You don't look too bad yourself."

He caught her off guard and scooped her up, bridal style, into his arms. "Do you think they'll hear us if we put a silencing charm around your room?"


	11. Chapter 11

It was cold, it was snowing, but Draco had decided that it would be a good idea to have a date in the grounds of Hogwarts. It was their place now, no cameras were allowed in or out so actually it was perfect. McGonnogal had given them the go-ahead, she secretly cooed over them, happy that they had found each other, that they no longer argued. They had better ways of releasing that tension, now. Anyway it would have been perfect if Harry wasn't stood waiting for him, he mumbled under his breath "Bastard." He didn't mean it, nor would he ever call Draco a bastard to his face. But why the fuck was he late? _He could've been held up at work_ , Harry thought to himself, but he would've sent an owl. Like that guy who stood me up. No. Harry didn't want anymore rejection owls, they stung too much. He looked up at the castle that he had called home for so many years and thought back to his fonder memories, of quidditch, of fires, of Hagrid and other professors that he held in a special place in his heart. He thought about Dobby and the other people that had been lost to the war.. _Stop it._ He couldn't go there right now, he couldn't bring those faces to the front of his mind. Thankfully Draco came into view, he was holding a crate that didn't look dissimilar from a qudditich crate.

"Hey, fancy seeing you here. At our date." Harry pouted, rubbing his hands together. "That better not be bludgers and merlin knows what else in there, Malfoy."

Draco raised an eyebrow, "Malfoy? Someone's grumpy. Don't worry Potter," He winked and smirked, and all was forgiven on Harry's part. "It's not a bludger, or a snitch, or a quaffle. And I'm sorry I was late but this shit is heavy and I bumped into Neville."

"How is he? How's Luna?" Harry helped Draco with the crate, finally resting it on the grass. Draco made Harry sit on a nearby fallen log and wrapped a scarf around his eyes.

"He's good, he looked tired, but then he said he'd just had 1st years. Anyone would be tired after that." They both laughed and Draco set to work constructing their date. "Luna is feeling the effects of her third trimester now, I think she's a bit sick of being pregnant from what Neville said. The cold weather isn't helping either, she's trying to continue working part time, fight off infections and get the house ready for a baby. Which you know will be an absolute nightmare, Neville is currently repotting mandrakes in their kitchen."

Harry laughed and pulled his coat around himself tighter, "I'm glad they found each other, glad they managed to get it together. But I never thought that those two would be the first ones to settle down out of our lot." Harry talked about the group like Draco was a part of it and now in some way he was, he'd been accepted by their close friends, but they were still treading the water with other people. They hadn't told Neville and Luna for example, but they would soon enough. It was more of a case of omitting the truth, than keeping it from them. They were still trying to find their feet in the relationship before the whole of the wizarding world needed to know. "When are we going to tell Scorpius?"

"That was sudden." Draco raised an eyebrow, even if Harry couldn't see it. "Where did that come from, babe?"

The dark haired man shrugged, "He should know Draco. He's your son. I know he's only two and he probably won't understand but we'd be able to be ourselves around him then. We'd be able to kiss and cuddle and he would know who you really are."

Draco sighed, "You put up a good argument. I'll think about it." He had finally finished building their date, he took the blindfold off of Harry and Harry looked at the site before him. There was a wigwam set up with fairy lights scattered around it, he presumed they were pixies but skimmed over that. There were little jars dotted around the grass that glowed elegantly, inside of the wigwam there were thick fluffy blankets and pillows of varying shades and textures. A hamper lay outside the wigwam which looked like a smaller version of the crate Draco had been carrying earlier, inside of the crate there was a mass of food, Bertie Bott's every flavour bean, chocolate frogs, treacle tart, no melt ice cream, pumpkin tart, sandwiches, crisps, cheeses. There were two bottles of butterbeer wrapped in cloths so they would stay warm, because there is nothing better than a warm butterbeer in the middle of winter.

"Draco.." Harry whispered, shocked. He stepped towards him and smiled, "You don't need to say anything." He kissed him gently and Harry leant into him, wrapping his arms around the slightly taller mans neck.

They'd been chatting aimlessly for a while, feeding each other food and drinking the beer. "I wish I didn't have to go to this meeting tomorrow, I wish I could just stay here with you."

"Forever? I don't, but you certainly have a life to get back to Draco."

Draco shrugged, "Work is work."

"Woaah. You feeling okay babe? Work isn't just work to you, it's your life. Apart from Scorp and me, obviously." Harry winked and kissed Draco quickly.

"I know.. But sometimes, when I've worked all week and weekends, and I've barely seen my boys, I feel like it's not worth it. Someone else could do my job just as well as I can, someone else could be me.. The ministry is changing and I'm not sure I like all of the changes, Kingsley is doing an amazing job of course, but the department heads, they don't all trust him. They think that his allegiance to Dumbledore etc was misplaced, and there was a time when I would have believed those sorts of people. They're just confused, no ones explained things properly to them."

"Maybe the meeting tomorrow will help, clear things up a little?"

Draco nodded and kissed Harry's lips, laying his head in his lap he was comfortable and happy and he felt like he could talk to Harry about anything.

(( LINE BREAK ))

Hermione was sat at the long table in the middle of the wizarding conference room, deep in the heart of the Ministry. It was the tri annual meeting of all the departments and Hermione had to bring up the Puddlemere incident to ensure that qudditch teams had no means of travelling out of their areas, for the good of muggles, for wizarding safety, etc. Draco was also there, sat next to her, and he had to bring up the burning-school-because-a-child-got-hold-of-a-wand incident. He didn't want to, but he was going to have to initiate a system where teachers had locks on their wands, it made life much more complicated for professors but he would only be implementing it to professors that taught children of primary and pre school age. Professors at Hogwarts would not need to have the same system, their wands would not need to be locked unless an incident occurred in the future, and for Draco's sake he prayed that there would not be an incident in the future.

Hermione was tired, she was fed up and she thought that she would have been able to get home to Oliver, but clearly not. It was nearing 10pm and they were still sat at the table, Draco slipped Hermione a note under the desk and she opened it up..

 _You okay? You look like you're going to be sick any minute._

She looked at him and nodded, mouthing "Cover for me." She jumped out of her seat and ran out of the room, clutching her stomach.


	12. Chapter 12

The sun shone through the floor to ceiling windows in Draco's bedroom, Harry was laying in the plus sized king bed, his bare back flexing as he yawned, Draco smirked, sorting his windsor knot on his tie. "You can do that all day." He smiled in approval, and turned to look at Harry. "Is my tie okay?" Harry rolled his eyes, "No." As Harry was sorting the tie Draco looked up, "Hey, is Hermione feeling better?" It was a few days after she had run from the meeting and Draco was concerned, he hadn't seen her back at the Ministry, and usually they bumped into each other - same Floo line and all that.

"Yeah she's fine, wait. Feeling better? She wasn't ill." Harry took a step back from Draco, his tie now fixed. "What do you know that I don't?"

"Hermione.. We were in the heads of department meeting and she had to run out, I think she was sick. She asked me to cover for her so I said she had some bad seafood at lunch.."

Harry pulled a shirt and jeans on, "We thought she was staying over at Oliver's, we haven't seen her since that meeting."

"Shit. Sorry. Right, babe, I've got to go to work, but owl me as soon as you find her." Draco kissed Harry sweetly and Harry snuck out of the house in order for Scorpius not to see him. Draco had promised they would talk to Scorpius today but now that this had occurred it seemed a lot less likely.

Harry pushed open the front door and ran to Ron who was sat at the kitchen table with Whiskey. "Hermione isn't at Olivers, she's sick. Draco hasn't seen her at work since Tuesday, it's fucking Friday!" Ron dropped his glass, "What?! Well we've got to owl Wood haven't we? He might know where she's gone."

They soon received a reply from Wood, which had hit his answer-owl, _Sorry I can't get back to you right now, I'm away at an international match, I'll owl you when I return._

Ron looked at Harry, he had no idea what to do, normally Hermione would fix the problems. "Where could she be? Do you think she's gone to St. Mungos?"

Harry nodded, "It's the only place we've got to left to look, I'll owl her assistant and see if he knows anything."

* * *

They walked up to the large oak reception desk at St. Mungo's private ward and asked if they had admitted Hermione, they both punched the air and grinned when the woman stood up and pointed them to her room. "Thank merlin." Ron muttered under his breath, he didn't know what he would do if they lost Hermione, she was both of their rocks. They loved her to pieces.

"Room 249. This is it." Harry said, pushing open the door. Hermione was curled up on the bed, she looked pale and weak and she was crying.

"Mione.." Ron mumbled, as Harry quickly shut the door, these rooms were private for a reason. If the Prophet got hold of any of this.. there would be hell to pay. "Mione what's wrong? Why are you in here?" They quickly sat at her bed side and Harry pulled her covers up around her, she tied her hair back loosely and managed to sit up.

"I've been throwing up a lot recently and I just thought I had a bug but then I collapsed at work, after a meeting." Harry and Ron looked at each other with knowing eyes, "So I came for a check up and they admitted me, I've been throwing up and I've not eating anything. I coughed up blood yesterday and then the healers came in this morning.. After the war, I knew there would be repercussions. But nothing like t-this.." Hermione started crying again and Harry got up to rub her back, "And Ollie's away at a match and it's all so bad.. and I feel like I've failed."

"Hermione you've got to tell us what's wrong with you so we can help you." Ron stated, matter of factly.

"I might not be able to have kids." Hermione muttered, it left a bitter taste in her mouth and she curled up into a ball and ignored the world, she didn't want to do this right now. She didn't even want to think about any of this. "Just go home. There's nothing you can do here, Whiskey will be missing you."

They argued for an hour that they were staying but eventually there was no point, Hermione had exhausted herself and she was asleep. They promised they'd be back in the morning and Harry had accio'ed Wood's jersey for her to sleep in. It might make her feel a little better.

* * *

Harry and Draco were sat in the kitchen, Ron had taken Whiskey for a walk, nursing their cups of tea. "Do you think she'll be okay? Get through the news?" Draco said, reaching out and squeezing Harry's hand.

"I don't know. I just have no idea. She looked so broken.. and throughout everything Hermione had been fine, she'd fought off death eaters and kept me and Ron alive for seven fucking years and now when she needs us there's nothing we can do."

"Well, the healers are the best she could possibly get there. They'll do everything in their power to help her. And unfortunately, besides being their for her, that's all you can do.." Harry nodded and sighed, finishing his tea. "When is Oliver getting back?"

"We finally managed to get hold of him, the international owl had to fly damn fast, he's coming home right after his match. He should be back around 9 or 10 tonight. Hermione needs him for merlin's sake."

"She'll probably sleep till then Harry, look there's nothing you can do now besides wait. Stop getting so agitated." Draco stood up and wrapped his arms around Harry, Harry slumped against his chest and held on tight to Draco. "I just wish there was something I could do."

"I know baby, I know."

They stayed like that, Draco gently comforting Harry, rubbing his back and cooing softly until Draco looked at the clock. "Harry, I'm going to have to go pick up Scorpius."

Harry looked up, "Okay. I'll let you know if anything happens with Hermione."

"Why don't you come with me? We can have a chat with Scorp. Tell him about us," Draco offered out his hand to Harry and he took it willingly, "I'd like that."

* * *

The two men were stood in the playground waiting for Scorp's group to be called, he was in the group named 'Spells', and next year he would move up into a group named 'Transformations'. It made Draco laugh when he first enrolled Scorpius, until he realised the teachers were completely serious. It was a preschool that enabled the children to be around magic just like they would at home, but not able to use magic in any form, even if they were able to. But as Draco had pointed out, what 3 year old can perform magic?

Harry had wrapped up in a button down white shirt, a thick cable knit grey cardigan and a matching grey overjacket, the jacket came about mid thigh and he wore smart trousers with loafers. Draco was dressed similarly, but he had been at work all day so he wore a black suit with a black shirt, unbuttoned at the neck, and a black over jacket made from thick wool. He had loafers on too and a silver bangle on one wrist and his watch on the other. They suited each other well, and there were a few women in the playground gazing in their direction.

Scorpius' group was called and Draco went in to collect his mini me, he was busy playing with a little girl who had fiesty orange hair - it reminded Draco of the Weasley's. He scooped him up and held him on his hip, tucking a bit of stray hair behind his ear. "Did you have a good day Scorp?" He nodded and snuggled into his papa, yawning. Draco walked out into the playground and met Harry, he kissed his cheek and smiled. "Scorp's out for the count, I'll let him nap as we walk home and then we can have a quick chat with him, I don't think he'll bat an eyelid to be honest with you."

Harry smiled and held Scorpius' day bag, "I know it's a few years away but he's not going away for primary school is he?"

"I have a few options, there's a primary school in London. But there's only 6 kids in his preschool year and I only know of one other wizarding preschool in the whole of the city, so I can't imagine it will be a big year at the primary school. Which means I should be able to get him a place there."

Harry laughed, "And you're the Minister for Education.."

"That doesn't come into it, it should be fair. Or I can have him home schooled, but I was home schooled and it made me a self-important brat. I know Scorp could never be like that, but I think he should have the chance to mingle with other children. I think it's more important than anything really. I want him to go to Hogwarts and be sorted into the right house, not his blood line house."

"You care so much for him. His education, his values. I bet your mother is proud of you."

Draco shrugged, "Mother knows I'm doing my best. It's a tricky situation, she doesn't really approve of me being gay. So, we talk about the little things in life but nothing big."

Harry pushed open the front door and walked into the hallway, Draco's house was all clean lines and simple monochrome furniture, and then there were colourful muggle toys and wizarding baby toys, Scorp's playpen, his highchair strewn about in the space. It was exactly what Harry hadn't expected the first time he went to Draco's. The blonde man gently shook his son awake and put him in his highchair, as Scorp was coming to Harry went to the fridge and got out an apple and some cheese. He cut the apple up into bite sized chunks and he cut the cheese into cubes, placed into two bowls and gave it Scorpius - the little boy started to munch happily.

"Scorp, we've got something we need to tell you." He looked up but Draco knew he wasn't really listening. "Me and Harry," Scorpius grinned and shouted "Hazza!" Draco nodded his head, "Hazza." He muttered the word distastefully, "We like each other. We're together. Like Mummy and Papa were together, me and Hazza are together." Scorpius nodded and chewed on his apple.

"Well you tried babe, at least we've told him now." Harry ruffled Scorpius hair and took away the bowl that had had cheese in it. Draco smiled and kissed Harry's neck sweetly as Harry washed the bowl out. "Do you want to stay? We could get take out and watch a movie or something." Hermione had introduced Oliver and Draco to television and films and they both loved them, but they had a lot of catching up to do. Harry nodded, smiling, "Yeah I'd like that. I just need to go check on Ron, first."

"Invite him over if you want." Draco shouted as Harry walked through the hallway.

* * *

It was 10.30 pm by the time Oliver arrived at St. Mungos, he hadn't changed from his quidditch gear and he was still dripping in sweat but he didn't care. He rushed to room 249 and walked in, "Hermione." He was out of breath from his run to 's, and he had been very frantic in finding her room until he remembered she would be in the private wards. "I'm so sorry I couldn't get here sooner." He mumbled, choked up to see the girl he loved lying in a hospital bed.

"It's okay. Don't worry about it." She was wearing his jersey and she smiled as best she could for the first time in days. Oliver sat on the chair closest to her bed, and took her slim hand into his.

"Why are you here? What's wrong?"

"Don't get mad at me.. Oliver.. I've been having symptoms for a few days and I thought I'd be fine but then I collapsed after a meeting on Tuesday night so the healer at the Ministry brought me here and I've had all sorts of tests.. And during the war when I was tortured they did all sorts of things to me and basically.. Um, I .. I might not be able to have kids."

She looked like her whole world had been turned upside down, she was broken and exhausted. "Oh Mione.." he climbed into bed with her and held her close, her body was weak and small and Wood didn't know how she was going to come back from this. "It doesn't matter to me," he mumbled, "I still love you." She was crying by now but she kissed his hand and mumbled back, "I love you too."


	13. Chapter 13

It had taken a few days and a lot of hard work from the Healers, but Hermione had finally stopped being sick, she was able to stand up on her own and she was slowly beginning to gain weight. Oliver hadn't left her side once and was still wearing his quidditch robes from the match he'd been at. He packed up her things and she sat on the bed, wearing skinny jeans and Oliver's jersey, she had her thick puffer jacket on and cosy UGG boots. "Ready to go Mione?" He kissed her forehead and helped her up, she nodded, she was tired and hungry all of the time, but she felt better than when she first came in and after a few days rest at home she would be back at work. They were going to the Burrow tonight because Mrs Weasley felt the overwhelming need to get the family together and celebrate Hermione coming out of hospital, Hermione had even decided to bring Oliver with her. She knew it was a big step, but she finally felt ready. He held her hand and they walked out of the hospital to a sea of cameras flashing and reporters shouting questions, their quills writing answers down for them that Hermione hadn't even said yet. She had her hand wrapped around her stomach because of the intermittent bouts of queasiness and she regretted it instantly when a reporter noticed and jumped to the conclusion that she was pregnant.

"Get the fuck out of our way!" Wood shouted, pushing a reporter over, forgetting his strength. "Do you really think that now is a good time to be asking my sick girlfriend questions? No! I don't think it fucking is! Aye, get out of our way." He groaned, rolling his eyes as they continued to ask questions. Hermione and Oliver slipped into an alleyway before anyone could notice and they side-along apparated home. Hermione sat on the couch, it was snowing heavily by now and she was cold, tired and hungry. Not a winning combination for anybody.

"I'm sorry I got mad at the reporters. I was just so pissed off. I am so pissed off." He mumbled, putting her bag in the hallway and stroking Whiskey's head. Ron and Harry had gone out food shopping for muggle produce, they'd been cooking with wizarding produce whilst Hermione was in hospital, but they knew she'd complain that she wanted real home grown food. Hermione looked up at Oliver, "It's okay. I think you've got to be more worried what work will say when they see the papers tomorrow. You know the reporters are going to say that you've got anger issues or something." She tied her hair back into a messy bun and giggled a little. "You know what. I don't care. We both smell awful, and you've still got a mud stain on you from the match that was over a week ago now."

He looked at her and they both fell into fits of laughter, here they were worrying what they'd said to the papers, when they themselves needed a hot shower, a decent sleep and a lot of food. "Come on, my little control freak. Let's get you in the bath, I'll even wash your hair." She laughed and got up, "Oh yes because I love it when you wash my hair."

He faked a wounded expression, "What?! I thought you liked it. You said you liked it." He stuck his bottom lip out and she winked, "Oops. I lied."

She laughed and ran up the stairs, he chased after her, reaching out to tickle her before they made it to her bathroom. It had a deep roll top stand alone bath made of copper with a soft material from the wizarding world on the inside of it, when they'd had the house furnished they had bought most of the furniture from muggle London but Ron said the baths were too uncomfortable, so they bought 3 of these baths, and even if Hermione didn't want to say it, she had to admit, her bath was amazing. Oliver turned the taps and ran the hot water, adding bubble bath mixture. Hermione stood with her back to Oliver, taking her jeans off and hanging them over the chair in the corner, she was stood with his jersey hanging off one shoulder and it reaching mid thigh, she shook her loose curls out of her bobble and ran her fingers through them. Oliver bit his lip, and snaked his arms around her waist, he kissed her shoulder gently, then her cheek. "You don't see what I see, do you?" She looked up at him, "What do you mean?" He smiled and kissed her cheek again, then her neck, then her shoulder. "You don't see how beautiful you are, how funny you are. You, Hermione Granger, are the only girl I will ever need. I love you." She rested her head against his chest, "I will never get tired of hearing that." They both felt the bath water around their feet and Hermione giggled as Oliver cursed and jumped, "Merlin, fuck! Bloody bath with it's water and bubbles and you've got fucking wood in a bathroom, you have wood as your bathroom floor. Really?" She laughed and murmured a spell that cleared it all up, and he stood in amazement. "Stop doing that, stop clearing up my mistakes." He joked, smiling at her. She shrugged, "It's what I do." She mimicked Joey's accent and he stood there, "What was that?" Her jaw dropped, "Friends? You've never seen friends..?" He shook his head, bewildered, and climbed into the bath. She got in at the other end and they negotiated Oliver's long legs. After the comfortable silence had passed, Oliver looked up at Hermione, biting his lip. "What?" she mumbled, trying her best to smile. "I know you're looking at me. I can hear you thinking." He shook his head, "You can't hear me thinking."

"Yes I can. You're thinking how am I like this? How have I gone from crying and shaking in a hospital bed only two days ago to laughing and joking and impersonating Joey Tribbiani in a bath with you. Now, am I wrong?"

"I just don't get it. I'm still shook up by it, and it's not even my body. Yeah it affects me but no where near as much as it affects you."

"Ollie we fought in a war, I have had to save countless people's lives and my own on a number of occasions. If I can't battle through this then how did I battle through a war?"

He nodded, collecting his thoughts, his emotions. "A lot of good people died that day."

"And the days before." She looked down and he took her hands, "My parents would've loved to have been grandparents. They wanted more kids but Mum struggled and they worked a lot. They gave up trying when they found out that I was different, they didn't want another child like me."

"If they had understood our world.. They would have been so proud of you. You know that right?"

She nodded and smiled with watery eyes, "Can you wash my hair now?

(( LINE BREAK ))

Oliver was wearing a grey shirt, sleeves rolled up and dark jeans, he had chelsea boots on that had softened with time and a big winter coat and scarf, the snow would be heavier at the Burrow. Hermione was wearing a pair of skinny jeans, a white shirt and a green knitted pull over, she had her hair up and the scar on her neck was glamoured, she wouldn't usually but she hated to worry Mrs. Weasley, she had bashed up boots on and thick woolen socks. The two of them walked out of Hermione's bedroom and waited in the kitchen for the boys, Harry came down first in a long sleeved grey top with denim jeans and boots. He grabbed his jacket from the stand and pulled it on along with a beanie that Mrs. Weasley had knitted him, Hermione raised her eyebrow, "You've never worn that." He shrugged, "Pixie points." She laughed, it had taken her a while to get used to the wizarding phrases, and she always felt the urge to correct people and say 'brownie points' whenever they said pixie points.

Ron finally came running down the staircase, he was wearing a similar top to Harry but it was red and had a few buttons at the neck that he'd undone, he wore loose fit jeans and his converse. "Ronald, you realise that it is snowing out there."

"Hermione, I know you're not used to this yet, but we have a marvellous invention called the floo network." She scowled and rolled her eyes as one by one they stepped into the fireplace.

As they all stepped out the other end they saw Charlie and George setting the table, and Mr Weasley stoking up the muggle fireplace with wood and coal. "Oh Arthur they've arrived!" She grinned and enveloped Ron and Harry in a hug, she then hugged Hermione tightly and held her at arms length. "You look hungry. Are you gaining weight still? Eating properly?" Oliver smiled, she was similar to his mum. "And you my dear boy must be Oliver, it's so lovely to meet you." Oliver went for a handshake and she pulled him into a hug, he was tall and towered over her, but the sentiment was still there.

Mr. Weasley made his introductions and whispered in Hermione's ear that he approved of Wood. After 30 minutes of bickering and general chit-chat they all managed to seat themselves at the table, Mrs. Weasley had cooked up a spread, there were two different types of stew, dumplings, freshly cooked bread, a large pot of mashed potato with herbs and a jug of gravy. It was homely food and Hermione found herself eating far more than she usually would, she even went back for seconds.

"So, did you achieve your NEWTS before you went to Puddlemere, Oliver?" Mr. Weasley enquired, looking up whilst eating.

He nodded and smiled politely, "Yeah, I got five, my elective NEWT was Care of Magical Creatures and my core 4 were: Potions, Herbology, Defence Against the Dark Arts, and Charms." George and Charlie both raised their eyebrows at this, and George turned round and laughed.

"Wood, when the hell did you have time to study for five NEWTs?" He laughed and shrugged, "My parents made it very clear to me that if I didn't do five NEWTs I wasn't going to be able to play quidditch professionally, and if you want to play internationally you have to have 4 NEWTs or the equivalent. So I made it my mission to pass them all, and I love Hagrid but he really wasn't helpful with the Creatures class, we had fun but I pretty much taught myself the syllabus. I heard Hagrid built a stables onto his house now, so he never has to leave the animals."

Ron laughed, "Wouldn't surprise me."

"As long as he never brings a dragon home again I don't care what he does," Hermione said, thinking back to her younger years at Hogwarts. Oliver turned to look at her, he finished his food and then let his jaw drop to the floor. "He brought a dragon. A dragon. Into the school." She smiled and waved her hand around like it was no big deal, "It was an egg when he got it. He didn't bring a fully sized dragon in, he's not that stupid." Her boyfriend nodded and smiled, "Aye alright.."

After dinner they sat in the main room, but Oliver had taken Mr. Weasley aside into the kitchen. "Can I ask you something?" Mr Weasley raised an eyebrow and nodded, "Now I know that you normally ask the girl's father this but Hermione's aren't around anymore and I figured you're the next best thing. Can I have your permission to marry her?" Mr. Weasley wasn't one for crying but he swear a tear fell down his face, he nodded quickly and hugged Oliver. "Welcome to the family, Oliver."

The two men walked back into the living room and Oliver sat next to Hermione, she snuggled in and raised an eyebrow at him. "What were you up to?" He shook his head, "I was helping wash up." Hermione knew he was keeping something from her, but she trusted him and let it go. The family were talking about how Harry and Ron should try blind dating again, Mrs. Weasley was very keen for them to get themselves out there, to give it another shot. "Pff, Harry doesn't need help with that one, he's bagged himself Draco Malfoy."

Harry shot Ron a withering look and walked out of the room, Hermione went after him but he'd already apparated home. "Ronald what did you do that for?" Hermione shouted from the kitchen, boiling with rage.


	14. Chapter 14

I have a big apology to make! Chapter 13 still had editing notes in it, and my lovely friends who beta for me hadn't been able to because we were all at prom and as I am so dedicated to you guys and this story I posted it whilst I was recovering from my big night at prom. It wasn't up to my usual standard so I've given you an extra chapter today! I have chapters planned up until 40, so I'm glad you guys are enjoying it because there is so much more to come

* * *

Harry had knocked on Draco's door as soon as he'd gotten home, he didn't want Ron to find him. He didn't even want to talk to Ron, Merlin knows what the Weasley's will have to say. His family. Bill, Charlie and Percy had all sent him owls asking if he was okay after the Prophet article, Mr and Mrs Weasley just didn't mention it and George was in a state of denial about the whole ordeal, which was really good of him. Draco opened up the front door, he was wearing grey sweat pants and his hair was wet and in disarray, he had Scorpius balanced on his hip and he was asleep against Draco's bare chest.

"Hey. Come in, don't stand out in the cold." Draco smiled, and looked down at himself. "Sorry about this, it was bath time and now its bed time for this little man."

Harry smiled slightly and nodded, "It's fine. He's really out for the count bless him."

"It's been a long day, we went to the zoo today. Muggle zoo that is." Harry smiled, and stroked Scorp's hair.

"Why don't you put some tea on Harry? I'll put him to bed and we can talk about whatever it is that's bothering you." Harry looked up, "How did you know?"

Draco laughed and started walking upstairs, "I didn't, but I do now."

Finally Scorpius was tucked up in bed, surrounded by his plush toys and quilts. Draco walked downstairs and into his living room, Harry had taken his jacket and scarf off, and was sat comfortably on the sofa. There were two mugs of tea on the glass coffee table and Draco smiled, "So what happened?" He sat down next to Harry and the dark haired man wriggled and lay his head in Draco's lap, Draco had his tea in one hand but he stroked Harry's unruly hair with the other.

"Ron outed us to the Weasley's, to my family." He mumbled, when he said it like that it seemed ridiculous, but he was so upset. He'd cooled down once he'd had some tea and had managed to contain his thoughts and emotions. Draco bit his lip, _there must be more to this story.._

"And? What else babe?"

"Well, that's it. I know it sounds ridiculous. But he had no right to do that, I wasn't ready."

Draco smirked slightly and looked at Harry, "When are you ever ready for anything that has happened to you? Harry you don't get to control things like this, you couldn't control what happened to your parents, what happened with Voldemort wasn't chosen by you, you didn't get to choose when you came out, and now you can't control your family knowing about us. Shit happens. But it happens for a reason, don't hold this against Ron. All they will want is for you to be happy. Whoever makes you happy."

Harry nodded, "I guess. Can I stay over tonight?" Draco smiled and kissed Harry gently, "Of course. But we're still going to the match tomorrow. I'm not letting you avoid Ron. He didn't do this to spite you, and you know that." Harry shrugged and rolled his eyes, "I know. I'm just annoyed."

Draco shifted and put his tea on the table, "Well come on then, I know a way to get rid of that frustration." Harry smirked and looked at Draco, "Running?" Harry suggested innocently. "Don't play dumb with me Potter, you know exactly what i'm talking about." He winked and held out his hand for Harry.

(( LINE BREAK ))

Ron and Hermione were sat at the breakfast table, Hermione was eating her way through two grapefruits, a bowl of cereal, three slices of toast and she had a glass of orange juice on the side. Oliver was still in the shower, but he was putting off coming down to breakfast with the tension like it was. He'd have to get to pre-match training soon anyhow. "I hope you're pleased with yourself." Ron looked down at the table, he couldn't meet Hermione's glare today. "Do you think he'll forgive me?" She shrugged, "Who knows."

"C'mon Mione don't do this. I made a mistake, we've all made mistakes."

"I've never outed my best friend to his family, with a relationship that he was happily keeping secret."

Ron huffed at this and carried on eating his cereal in silence, Whiskey was eating her food and drinking her water much louder than usual to cover up the awkward silence in the room. Oliver walked in, in his training gear, "Merlin. You two need to sort out the troll in the room, Harry will get over it Ron, you should apologise though, and Mione, Ron made a mistake, he knows that. But there's no point in you two acting like petulant teenagers." Oliver grabbed some coffee, kissed Hermione on the head and looked at them both. "I expect to see you all at the match, bring Draco."

Hermione shouted 'good luck' to Oliver as he flooed to the stadium, and Hermione and Ron managed to make amends.

(( LINE BREAK ))

Harry looked at Ron, and sighed. "Come on, get on with it. I can't look at that puppy dog face for long." Ron smirked, of course Harry would be using humour in this situation. "I'm sorry mate. For what I did. It was stupid and it was a mistake, I just wasn't thinking." Harry nodded and looked at him, "You never do." They were all stood in the players box waiting for the match to begin, Hermione had a glass of champagne along with Harry and Draco, Ron had a glass of orange juice as he had decided to give up alcohol altogether. Cutting back his alcohol hadn't helped so he was cutting it out altogether. Neville and Luna were going to come down for the match but Luna had taken ill and didn't feel up to the travel, the baby was due in a couple of months and they didn't want to take any risks, especially because Luna had a 'funny' feeling about the baby.

"So do you get nervous before a match? Knowing that he's up there on a broom and could get knocked off or hurt any minute.." Draco stood, making conversation with Hermione whilst the boys worked through the issue.

Hermione looked at Draco and shrugged, "There's no point getting worried, because if I did it would be the only thing I would think about and where's that going to get us?"

Draco nodded and took a sip of his champagne, "I guess. Is he pretty calm and collected before matches then?"

"No not at all." Hermione laughed and smoothed down her jersey, she was wearing it over tight black skinny jeans and winter boots, she had on Oliver's puffer jacket as it was larger and cosier and she had a bobble hat that her hair managed to spring out of at weird angles. She needed to go Christmas shopping soon and she realised she still had no idea what to get Oliver. "What are you and Harry doing about Christmas gifts?"

He raised an eyebrow, "That's out of no where.."

"Sorry! I just suddenly remembered and Christmas isn't far away now.. I'm normally so prepared but work and then being in hospital, oh Merlin." She rambled on quickly and Draco squeezed her arm.

"Calm down. Me and Harry haven't even spoken about Christmas yet but we're still at the stage where we take each day as it comes, why don't you and Fleur go shopping together? I'm sure she'd love to take you around the streets of Paris and properly shop."

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and beckoned the other boys over as the match was about to begin. They were playing the Holyhead harpies, and for the first 30 minutes there was a tight battle between the two teams, each gaining and losing dominance every minute or so, but finally the snitch was sighted. It didn't mean that they were anywhere near done but it meant that they could all dream of warming up again, the seekers dodged and fought for the snitch, both of them egging each other on some more. Oliver was hovering in front of the hoops, his eyes scanning around. And before Hermione could take a breath a rogue beluga had come flying through the hoop, charging right into the back of Oliver, the wind was knocked out of him and he was down. He fell through the air, his broom taking off for safety, he hit the ground, play continued until Hermione let out a blood curdling scream and the ref looked down at the ground. "Merlin." he muttered breathlessly, flying down to Oliver who was laying in a crumpled heap on the floor, his eyes were closed and his arms were bent into angles you could only dream of, his face was already bruising and blood was seeping from his mouth. Hermione ran as quickly as she could down the wooden steps, mustering all of the energy she didn't have, she ran onto the pitch and pushed players twice her size out of the way just to get to Oliver.

A healer was stood over him, fixing what they could, the cuts, the bruises, but most of the damage was done. He was out cold and they couldn't get him to wake up, so it would be just like in muggle medicine, wait and see. Hermione knelt by his side on the cold wet grass and held his hand, she squeezed it and kissed his forehead. "Come on Ollie. Come on." She begged, "Just open your eyes." The healer looked at Hermione and sighed, "Take him to St. Mungo's," he then looked at Hermione, "Back entrance, into the private wing. Please."

(( LINE BREAK ))

Hermione had been told to go home, Oliver was still out two days later and she felt useless. She pushed open the front door of their house, her house. Where she hadn't been in days and she saw Harry standing waiting for her. "Mione. Come here.." She walked into the welcoming arms of one of her best friends and she melted into his chest, "I don't know what I'll do if he doesn't wake up. We were going to grow old together, and there was this experimental treatment for infertility that I was going to try because I know how much Oliver wants kids and I want to have kids with him and marry him and let him annoy me for the rest of my life. But what if that's it? What if that's his life over? What if he never wakes up Harry?" She cried, she desperately needed him to wake up and crack that smile, mutter something miserable about the weather in that Scottish accent of his and kiss her, kiss her like she was the only girl in the world. Scorpius was sat in the living room on the floor with some toys and he shouted up, "Hazza!" Draco squeezed his shoulder, "Not now Scorpius." He continued to play with his toys, sitting on the fur throw that purred at him when he stroked it. He giggled and Hermione turned to him and smiled, she needed the distraction right now. "Hey Scorpius, what've you got there?"

He looked up, "Ony!" he tried so hard to say 'Hermione' but that was tricky, so they thought 'Mione may be easier, but at the moment he could only managed 'ony'. Hermione played with Scorpius for a while until even he realised she was tired. Whiskey wandered into the lounge and nudged Hermione, nuzzling her gently. "Come on Hermione, go to bed." Ron said, standing by Whiskey. She nodded, "If they send an owl.. You have to wake me up. Okay? I don't think I'll be getting much sleep but.." She stood up and her legs were wobbly, so Ron scooped her up and carried her to her bed, and sat her down. He crouched in front of her and rubbed her knee comfortingly. "Don't be stubborn, don't be an idiot. If you need us just tell us. We're here for you."


	15. Chapter 15

Harry and Hermione were sat at the breakfast table, Harry had planned to go over to Draco's but after the incident Hermione needed all the people she had in her life around her. Her nightmares had gotten worse and more frequent, she got about an hour's sleep a night at best and that wasn't peaceful sleep. She was in a negative downward spiral.

"Harry.. Can I ask you about something?"

He nodded, drinking some of his pumpkin juice, he knew he shouldn't have it for breakfast but Hermione wasn't in the headspace to tell him off.

"You know the experimental healers, the trial at the Ministry.. I've still got my appointment booked in for today. Should I go?"

Harry looked up, he thought she would ask him about the weather, or Christmas presents. Not this. "Whatever you think Hermione."

She rolled her eyes and stood up in a huff, "You're no use. I'm owling Fleur to see if she can come with me." Hermione was doing everything to keep herself busy, she would be at work from 8-4 and then she would go to St. Mungo's, she narrowly avoided the press, and then she would sit with Oliver. He'd been in a coma since Sunday evening now, and it was Wednesday currently. People tried to tell her it wasn't that long, but every day he wasn't by her side, or cuddled up to her, or teasing her, felt like years.

* * *

Hermione stepped out of the house that morning wearing a chunky knit sweater over skinny jeans and boots, she had her thick parka on and a scarf wrapped around her neck. She met Fleur on the pavement,who was dressed chicly - Hermione felt like a bag lady stood next to her. Fleur wore black leather jeans, heeled boots with tassels hanging from the sides of them, a layered top underneath a cropped leather jacket, a large coloured oversized scarf wrapped around her neck and a plum fedora on. "Oh Fleur you look beautiful." She smiled and hugged her tight, "You.. have looked better, ma petit cherie." Hermione rolled her eyes and linked arms with Fleur, they were at the small private hospital where the treatment would take place soon enough and Hermione bit her lip so much on the way over that it had started to bleed.

"Hermione stop, you're making me nervous now."

She briefly smiled, trying to laugh in response but actually just making a small squeak like a mouse. _Why can't you just be cool around Fleur?!_ her subconscious screamed at her whilst she checked in at reception; the neatly dressed lady behind the desk pointed her to room 4B down the hall, and they set off.

Healer Montgomery was waiting for her in the clinical room, it was all clean lines and sterilised surfaces. Hermione introduced herself and got changed into a hospital robe, laying down in the chair. Fleur turned to Montgomery and raised an eyebrow, "And you're sure zis is safe?" He nodded, "We know it is perfectly safe, we just don't know if it works. Miss Granger are you comfortable?" She nodded and closed her eyes, letting the Healer get to work.

It was ten minutes into the procedure when Healer Montgomery checked Hermione's chart, he raised an eyebrow quizzically. "Miss Granger I need to ask a few questions, I'm sorry."

She nodded, "That's fine." Her eyes flickered open and she looked up at the tall middle aged man, he smiled softly.

"When was the last time you had intercourse?"

She blushed furiously and played with her hands, "About four days ago, maybe five."

"Do you use birth control, muggle or wizarding?"

"No, there's no need. I'm infertile.. Kind of the reason why I'm here, no offence."

He smirked slightly, _she's just as feisty as the articles made her out to be._ "What did St. Mungo's say were your chances of carrying a child?"

"5%-10%."

"Well congratulations Miss Granger, you've beaten your odds. You're pregnant." She looked like she was going to cry, "Are you serious? I'm p-pregnant?!"

Fleur squealed and clutched Hermione's hand. "Yes, it seems like you've proven people wrong once again Miss Granger, I wouldn't normally have been able to detect the foetus as it is just past it's embryonic stage, it is only 10 days old at best, really. Possibly only a week. But the experimental treatment is so invasive that we have to check for anything, I'll leave you to get changed and sign your discharge papers. Once again, congratulations."

He left the room and Hermione looked at Fleur with excitement in her eyes, "I'm pregnant! Fleur! I'm actually pregnant! I have to tell Ollie right away!" Hermione grinned and then with one look at Fleur she remembered, "Oh yeah. Well. He's got to wake up now, he's going to be a dad." She rested her hand on her stomach, "In there is a tiny little blip that needs a daddy, so Merlin please, Oliver has to wake up." Hermione didn't know if there was a god, or if Merlin was looking out for her, but she needed some greater being to make sure Oliver was going to be okay. She got changed into her clothes and Fleur announced that they needed to celebrate.

"Well.. I need to go Christmas shopping so can we roll them into one? And Fleur, please don't tell anyone. No one. I'm not telling anyone else until Ollie wakes up."

Fleur hugged her quickly and kissed both cheeks, "Your secret is safe with me, let's go to Paris. I know the ideal thing for you to get Oliver."

* * *

As they walked through the streets of Paris, Hermione couldn't help but smile, clearly karma was not a bitch. All of that hard work fighting in the war and saving countless lives had paid off, some greater being did think she deserved good things. "So, Fleur where are you taking me?"

"A beautiful lingerie store."

Hermione groaned, "I'm not giving Oliver myself for Christmas."

"No, no no! This is for you! A treat."

"You call lingerie a treat?"

"Of course. What else would it be?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, of course Fleur would say that. They stepped into the beautiful store and looked at the products, Fleur chose out what Hermione was buying and ushered her into the dressing rooms to try it all on. After some struggle she was done and she looked at herself in the mirror, _not bad._ She bit her lip, piled her hair on top of her head and tried to look seductive. _Okay that's not good._ Slowly she took the lingerie off and got back into her sensible clothes, that she liked, that she found comfortable.

"Ohh! Do I not get to see?" Fleur said, and Hermione laughed thinking she was joking. Her face fell when she realised she wasn't. "What? No, Fleur. Come on, I'll pay and then I need to get Oliver his actual presents. I already have Harry and Draco sorted, I have an experience day with the Puddlemere team sorted for Ron, he keeps complaining of how he misses flying. So I need to get Scorpius something, and then I thought I'd get Luna and Neville a 'date in a box' sort of thing, for when the baby is born, so they get time to be a couple. I could get something for their baby whilst we're buying for Scorpius too." Hermione paid and she took the bag, walking out of the store.

* * *

The sun was setting over Paris and they were sat in a restaurant after a successful afternoon of shopping. Hermione had bought all of her Christmas presents and Fleur had bought lots of things for herself. Hermione had gotten Scorpius a book that opened up and transformed whatever room you were stood in into what was on the page, it was beautiful and she knew that her little one would have to have one. She got Neville and Luna's little one starred baby grows in all the colours of the rainbow bar pink and blue, Luna had made a point that her child would never wear pink or blue whilst she was deciding what they wore. She was determined that they would not be forced to conform to their genders. She'd sorted out their date in a box ingredients and supplies and just needed to put it all in a hamper ready for them.

"Are you happy with what you've got for zem?" She smiled, eating delicately.

"Of course. I think that Ollie is going to like what I've got him, I just hope he doesn't play with them in the bloody front garden, Mrs Walters would have the fright of her life." Hermione had bought Oliver a set of quidditch balls that were charmed to be like footballs, but they changed size each time you kicked them, so the snitch was either impossible to find or larger than a bludger. They were funny and kooky and exactly what Oliver would like, she hoped. Fleur laughed, "You want to go home and visit him? I'll take your things for you. I know you're pining for him, mon petit chou fleur." Hermione raised an eyebrow, "Did you just call me a little cauliflower?" She nodded, looking just as puzzled. "It's sweet, no? A.. A term of endearment." Hermione laughed and shook her head, "No, but I like it. And thank you, you're right. I really need to see Oliver, check he's okay still. I'll apparate now if that's alright." Fleur nodded and kissed both of Hermione's cheeks, "I might stay with my parents for the night and bring these things home with me in the morning, iz that ok?"

* * *

Hermione was finally by Oliver's bed side, he'd made no change but his limbs had fully recovered from their breaks now which meant that Hermione could finally cuddle up to Oliver. He felt like stone, he was cold and lifeless, nothing like his usual self. Normally Oliver would wrap his arms around Hermione and it would feel like home, now.. now he had never felt so foreign. "I don't know if you can hear me but I know you're still in there, somewhere. You've got to be .. because you're going to be a daddy, Oliver."


	16. Chapter 16

This is so short but I couldn't find much more to write, so I'm sorry. But hey, it's Christmas in the next chapter and that's sure to be exciting!

* * *

Draco smiled at the sight of Harry, draped over him, the early morning sun filtering through the windows, Draco checked the clock and he only had two more minutes of bliss before he would have to start his day. Harry finally woke up from his slumber and looked at his boyfriend lovingly, "Morning.." He mumbled stretching, "Ooh, merlin, I ache." Draco smirked, kissing his neck quickly. "Sorry about that." Harry blushed and hid under the covers. "You can't hide from me, babe." The blonde man laughed and got up, wandering into Scorpius' room.

"Hey little man."

Scorpius was curled up in a ball, panting a little. "What's up Scorp?" Draco felt his forehead, he was running a fever. He took his wand from his pocket and measured his temperature, "39 degrees. Merlin, Scorp you must feel awful. Come on, I'll get you changed and you can come sit with Hazza whilst I get ready for work." Scorpius yawned and nodded, letting Draco change him into something cooler. Draco scooped him up and carried him into his suite.

"The little guy is running a temperature of 39." Harry took Scorpius from Draco and sat him on the bed with his stuffed dragon, "Have you tried a cooling charm?" He nodded, "No good. I'll phone my mother and see if she can look after him today."

"What? Draco I can look after him, as long as you don't mind me taking him next door." He raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure? That would be a massive help." Draco was stood in his suit trousers, parchment in hand ready to owl his mother. "It's no problem. Hermione is home today anyway, their department is being renovated."

"Oh I heard about that, did something happen to it?"

"No, but Hermione is doing so well running the department that they've allowed her to get more staff but the staff won't fit so they're having to renovate and change the space around. She got very excited about it all until she realised she'd have to have a few days off work."

Draco laughed, "Sounds like Hermione. We had a department meeting a couple months ago and for the whole meeting we managed to talk about her department alone, and then at the end she looked at her watch and said 'oh I didn't realise the time'." Harry chuckled, "Sure she didn't realise the time," he rubbed Scorpius' back and started to gather things into a bag for him, he could accio his play pen over to their house, but sometimes it was just easier to put things into bags.

In half an hour the three of them were ready, Scorp still had a fever and Draco was still fussing. "He'll be okay, babe. Kids get fevers sometimes, I'm sure Hermione will know exactly what to do."

* * *

Hermione was sat on her bed, rubbing her stomach gently. You couldn't tell anything yet but the thought of a tiny little blip being in there, that just made her feel so at peace. "Hey little blip, we're going to go see your Daddy today. Hopefully he wakes up soon, eh?" It was snowing again in London and Fleur had transferred all of her presents to the house in the early hours of the morning, she was going to floo straight to St. Mungos instead of walk there, because the weather was bad enough and she remembered Luna saying you feel the cold more when you're pregnant.

"Hey Ron." She walked into the kitchen, getting a lick from Whiskey and taking a bowl out of the cupboard for some cereal. "Big night last night?" He smiled and looked at her, "I didn't drink, not once. I was so tempted and I just didn't. But it doesn't mean I'm not exhausted now." Hermione laughed and sat down opposite him, "How were Seamus and Michael?" He smiled and nodded, "They were good. They're moving in together in a few weeks, never seen Seamus look so excited."

Harry pushed through the front door with Scorpius, "Hey guys!" he shouted, putting the bag down in the hallway and going into the kitchen. "Scorpius?" Ron raised an eyebrow, "He's not very well."

"What's up little guy?" Scorpius rubbed his eyes and grabbed out for Hermione, "Mione!" he mumbled, slightly excited to see her. She smiled and took him from Harry, "Woah! I'm Mione now, well done Scorp." She kissed his forehead, "Merlin, you are warm.."

"Draco thought some muggle ice lolly's might help but I doubt we've got any, it is December after all."

"You say that but I think we have some lurking at the bottom somewhere.." Hermione balanced Scorpius on her hip and went digging in the freezer, just as the Daily Prophet came flying in via owl. Ron groaned, "This can't be good."

He picked up the paper and read the title, 'HERMIONE GRANGER: OUR GOLDEN GIRL - PREGNANT' .. The article went on to say: _Oliver Wood, Puddlemere keeper, and Hermione Granger, golden girl and Head of Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, are expecting a child. Wood is currently at St. Mungos seeking medical attention after he fell into a coma at a match last weekend.. We knew Wood was good, but getting someone pregnant whilst in a coma, that's what you'd call impressive. Clearly Hermione isn't with Wood for his 'amazing' sense of humour.._

Ron dropped the paper, it was disgusting what Rita Skeeter had written, "Hermione.. You might want to read this mate.."

She rolled her eyes, "What is it now?" Hermione put Scorpius down in a chair and he looked up at her confused, she grabbed the paper and scanned the headline. "Shit." She put the paper down and Harry quickly looked at it, both Ron and Harry looked at her. "Is it true?" "Are you?" "But we thought you weren't able to have kids?" "How far along?" "Does Wood know?"

Hermione sat down, looking at them both. "How did they find out about this?" She mumbled, "How did Skeeter find out..? And then there was you coming out Harry.." Hermione quickly jumped up and raided the cupboards, small spaces, in the ceiling, anywhere until she found them.

There was a pile of 16 bugs, or recording devices, whatever you want to call them. Most of them were muggle devices but two were definitely wizarding, "I knew it. She's bugged our house. Skeeter has actually bugged our house! That's why they never take pictures of the house or us leaving it, she didn't want us to catch on." Hermione threw the bugs onto the fire, and destroyed the wizarding ones.

"Hermione sit down." Harry mumbled, confused.

"Seriously, Mione. Sit your ass down right now." She looked at Ron and realised he was serious, she sat at the table and looked at them both. "Tell us everything, right now."

"There's not much to tell, we stopped using birth control because I thought I was infertile, and then I went for my experimental healing, and Healer Montgomery told me I was pregnant. Not far, only 10 days max, maybe a week. So I'm more than annoyed that it's in the paper because they have no concrete evidence at all! And Ollie is still in a coma and it's not fair on him to find that the wizarding world knew before he did. And what if the baby doesn't make it to the first trimester? Then what do I explain to the prophet, to everyone."

Whiskey nuzzled at her side, and she was grateful for the comfort. "Congratulations, though. I know how much you've wanted this." Harry smiled and touched her hand, "You deserve it, more than anyone."

* * *

It was late evening by now and there had been owl upon owl bringing congratulations with them, so Hermione had started to ignore them, she was too busy caring for Scorpius anyway. But then an owl came through and Ron started shouting, "MIONE! MIONE! WOOD'S AWAKE! WOOD. IS. AWAKE.!" She jumped up quickly and ran to the kitchen, grabbing the parchment, "I'm going! I'm going!" She quickly apparated to St. Mungos and ran down the corridor, in her sweats, to Oliver's room.

"Oliver!" She saw him, sitting up in bed, drinking a glass of water slowly, his hair a little ruffled and his face a little bruised, but he was breathing and he was smiling and he was there. Alive. And with the Prophet on his lap. _Shit._

"Have you got something you want to tell me, Mione?"

She bit her lip and looked at him, nodding shyly. "Yeah… Can we go back to when you hadn't read the paper? Forget about it and let me tell you?"

He nodded, "We'll start this whole thing again," he chucked the paper on the floor and Hermione went outside and burst through the door. "Oliver you're awake!"

He laughed and smiled, "Hermione! I've missed you so much!"

"I have amazing news!" Hermione was playing the theatrical card, and they were both laughing hard but she managed to carry on. "Ollie you're going to be a dad." She whispered, knelt by him, he kissed her softly, and held her face, tears were rolling down her skin and she smiled. "We're having a baby."


	17. Chapter 17

**Christmas Eve.**

Hermione had her wand in hand and was levitating some garlands to hang around the banister rail, and then entwine themselves through the spools until they reached the final step, they were made up of ivy, muggle fairy lights and red velvet bows. Each bedroom had a garland over the bed, with different coloured bows to match the colour scheme of the room. In the living room the furniture had been rearranged and the christmas tree stood in the corner, atop of a white rug full of presents. The tree was decorated with gold streamers and white tinsel, it had muggle baubles and decorations that levitated, and it had candles just like the one in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. Atop of the tree was a muggle angel that Hermione had made when she was at primary school, she'd managed to find it in her parents house when she went back there to get her things.

In the kitchen there were clusters of bells levitating near the ceiling, and baubles hung from the handles on the cupboards, all of the appliances were covered in snow which Hermione had charmed to twinkle and glisten. The kitchen table hadn't changed much aside from the snow on the benches, which entertained Scorpius for hours - each time he brushed it off it would reappear. The hallway was decked out with muggle decorations such as wreaths and garlands, and the front door had a sign that said 'Joy' but with a wicker wreath for the 'O'. The topiary had fake snow on it, even though snow had been falling pretty heavily this winter, and by the front door there were two large bell jars with baubles inside of them. Hermione was proud of the house, it was certainly more impressive than last year when they forgot it was Christmas and turned up to the Burrow late, stressing Mrs. Weasley out no end.

It was 7 am and she finally sat down on the sofa and switched on the TV, to find all manor of christmas films and television specials. It reminded her of her parents and she smiled sadly. She felt someone kiss her cheek and looked up, "Hey you." She mumbled, stifling a yawn. He jumped onto the sofa and sat next to her, "What time did you start all of this?" She shrugged, "2 am." He sighed, "Come on, Mione. You need to look after yourself."

"When the second trimester starts I will. But for now you can't tell I'm even pregnant at all, and that means that I can carry on working and doing what I want. I'm taking advice from Luna." She grinned and Oliver rolled his eyes. _Really sensible and valuable advice then._

"Are you sure you don't want to go skiing at Aviemore with your parents?" she snuggled up to him and he wrapped the blanket around them. "I'm sure. We can meet them there on the 27th and spend New Year with them. It's too busy at Christmas anyway, at least on the wizarding side of the resort. I feel bad for the muggles, we get all the best snow and all of the best slopes."

"Remember they don't even know it exists. You can't want something that you don't know about." He smiled at her, "So wise, Miss Granger." She hit him, laughing. "Oi, I was named one of the wisest witches of our era last year. I've got a medal or a plaque or something to prove it."

"There, there. Of course you have." She mock scowled at him and got up to make some tea, she heard Ron and then Whiskey descending the staircase. "Mione this place looks amazing!" He looked around, and walked into the kitchen. "The finishing touches are really special." He squeezed her arm and she smiled, "Tea?"

Ron nodded and grabbed the milk from the fridge, "Is Harry next door?" She shrugged, "I think so. We were planning on going out for lunch and then I was going to take Scorpius to see all of the decorations in London whilst you boys go shopping, because I've heard that none of you have been yet." Oliver walked into the kitchen to defend himself, "I just need to pick everything up, I have it on order." She nodded, "Mm, ok. I'll believe you." He stuck out his bottom lip and she rolled her eyes, "Quit your whining." He laughed and picked up his mug, he desperately needed the coffee right now.

"So who's going to Mum and Dads then?"

"Bill and Fleur, Percy, George, Ginny, Charlie is going to try and make it, obviously me, you, Harry, Ollie's coming too.. Oh! And Gabrielle."

Ron raised an eyebrow, "Gabrielle?"

"Fleur's sister."

"I didn't realise she'd finished school."

Hermione nodded, sipping her tea. "She's living in London at the moment, I think she works for Madam Malkin whilst she trains to be a healer, she's training at St. Mungo's."

"Does she live with Bill and Fleur?"

Hermione shrugged, and grabbed some bread, slicing it up ready for the toaster. "Not sure. I doubt it, those guys are never there, what with their work and travel. She could be staying in quarters with the other trainee-healers, but I don't think there are many. A lot of them do their training in Denmark or Switzerland nowadays, bigger hospitals there. More research."

* * *

Draco and Harry both held one of Scorpius' hands and walked into the Bluebird, "Hey, table for 5 adults and this little guy." She smiled and took them to a table, grabbing a high chair for Scorpius. "Thanks." She put menu's down on the table, "What's the name? For when the rest of your party arrives." Draco looked up, "Potter." She raised an eyebrow but dismissed it, "How unusual. I'll be round to take your orders soon." She walked away and Harry quickly cast a silencing charm around their table; it was probably a good thing considering that Scorpius had started going on about McGonnogal and the Christmas present she had sent him.

"Remember when we came here when you had first moved in?" Harry said, browsing the menu. "Merlin, you and Ron were so hostile."

"And then Ron spitting his whiskey all over Hermione and her white dress!" Draco laughed, "Ron really hated me."

"I wouldn't say he loves you now." Harry smirked, looking up. "Ah well, he has to put up with me now."

"When are you travelling to your mothers?"

"Tonight, and then we get back on the 30th. Do you want to do something for New Year?"

"I was thinking we go out into London, muggle London, do New Year their way, I used to love it as a kid, all of the fireworks, and if Ron comes too we can keep an eye on his drinking. Do you think Scorp will manage to stay awake that long?"

"Doubtful, but we can give it our best shot. And if he doesn't I can always take him home and watch the fireworks on the television." The word still sounded foreign to him, but he was working on it.

Just then Oliver, Ron and Hermione walked in and sat down at the table, "Hey Scorpius." Oliver smiled and ruffled his hair, giving him his toy car that he'd left in the living room of Harry, Ron and Hermione's house. The little boy grinned and looked up, "Thank ooo." Finally the group got round to ordering and Hermione ordered an extra portion of chips on top of her chips, Ron raised an eyebrow. "What? A month ago I was in the hospital, hadn't eaten for 5 days and had barely anything left on me. Now I'm eating for two, so I can have that extra portion of chips." She smirked, "You on the other hand.." He tried to hit her but Oliver gave him a look.

"Well guys I've got good news too." Ron piped up, very aware that he was sat around with two couples, both of which were starting families, and he was single, with a dog. "I've been sober two months now!" They all grinned and congratulated him, starting to eat their food which had arrived.

* * *

"So I'll meet you all back at the house. Yeah? And for Merlin's sake Ronald, do not buy Ginny perfume, you know she's allergic."

As the four boys walked away, she could hear Ron explaining the story of last Christmas to Oliver. They had soon arrived at Diagon Alley, "Right boys I need to pick up Hermione's christmas present so where should I meet you?" Oliver smiled, his hands in his pockets. Draco was about to start talking when Harry raised an eyebrow, "Why can't we come too?"

Wood blushed, "You just can't."

Ron laughed, "Look if you've bought her underwear we don't care, we've both seen her naked it's not really that weird."

"Firstly, yes it is. And secondly, you're just not coming okay? I have to pick this up on my own."

Ron and Harry huffed but eventually let Oliver go, "We'll meet you outside the Leaky Cauldron in an hour."

Oliver walked into the jewellery store and picked up the engagement ring he had set aside for Hermione, the man behind the counter smiled fondly and peered through his glasses. "I thought it was you.. Oliver Wood.. Congratulations on the babbie, by the way." Oliver nodded, "Please, could you not say anything, about what I've purchased here." He nodded, "Of course not sir, completely secret."

He went to Whizz Hard books and bought a rare first edition for her, that he knew she wouldn't already have and he got it wrapped at a vendors near the Leaky Cauldron. The boys were already there when he walked in, sat at a high table with stools, he kept the box which had the ring in, inside of his jacket, and he'd already sent the book home. They had a butterbeer waiting for him, but Oliver was glad to see that Ron was drinking orange juice. "Still not going to tell us where you went, Wood?"

He smirked and shook his head.

* * *

Hermione and Scorpius had just started walking down their street when the sleet started to come down, so Hermione scooped Scorpius up and held him on her hip, they ran to her house and pushed through the front door - the boys were sat in the living room. "Hey, I deliver you one Scorpius Malfoy."

Draco got up and grinned, "Hey little man, did you have fun with Hermione?" He nodded and yawned a little, cuddling into his Papa's chest. "Mmm." he mumbled in agreement, "Thanks for today guys, it was fun. Harry, could you grab the door for me?" He bit his lip and Harry got up, walking into the hallway, he opened the front door. Draco kissed his lips gently and tucked Harry's hair to the side. "Merry Christmas." Harry stood with his lips parted, and watched the blonde haired man walk down the path and past the garden shrubs to his own front door, he mumbled under his breath, "Merry Christmas Draco."

Oliver, Ron and Harry were waiting for Hermione in the living room, they had their overnight bags ready and Hermione had already sent the presents over to the tree at the Burrow. "Come on babe you were ready 10 minutes ago!" Oliver shouted up the stairs, to a reply from Hermione of "One more minute!" She was slumped against her bedroom door, with a christmas card and biro in hand, a clever muggle device which you could use as a quill, but the ink stayed inside of the quill at all times. Her hand was shaking and she was trying so hard to put pen to paper, "Come on Mione. Come on."

Finally she wrote on the card:

 _Mum and Dad,_

 _Merry Christmas. I have a boyfriend. Oliver. And I'm pregnant. And I love you. I think about you every single day. I'm so sorry._

 _Love, Yours, Always, Hermione._

The ink had smudged on the paper from Hermione's tears and she stood up, putting the card in an envelope, addressing it properly and putting it in the box under her bed. She looked at herself in the mirror and quickly re-glamoured herself. She'd do. "I promise I'm just coming!" She called, grabbing a scarf that the boys probably hadn't seen and wrapped it round her neck.

"I had to find my scarf, couldn't find it anywhere and you know how cold the Burrow can be sometimes."

Ron nodded, "Yeah sure.. Okay." He didn't believe her in the slightest, but she seemed to have Harry and Oliver fooled.


	18. Chapter 18

Just have to say, there may be triggers in this chapter, so if you don't feel you can read that, stop before the last section on Ginny, otherwise the rest of the chapter is 'trigger-free' - thanks for reading! Also, I'm away all weekend, so there won't be a chapter update tomorrow or Sunday. Back to normal on Monday tho!

* * *

 **Christmas Day.**

 **The Burrow.**

Hermione rolled over in her bed and snuggled up to Oliver, he was bare chested and warm. "Ollie?" She mumbled and looked up, he flickered his eyes open and smiled at her, kissing her forehead. "Merry Christmas, Hermione." She grinned, then yawned sleepily, "Merry Christmas, Oliver… How long do you think we have before everyone wakes up and we have to go socialise?" He laughed, "Probably enough time to do this." He kissed her lips gently and she reciprocated.

Ron and Harry were sleeping in Ron's old room, in separate twin beds. His room and gone unchanged and the familiarity was comforting. "When do you think we'll stop this? Living together, Christmas at the burrow.." Ron mumbled, Whiskey was licking his hand and he groaned, "I know Whiskey, I'll get up soon." Harry laughed and pulled a jumper on, "I don't know mate, but I hope it's not soon. I'm not going anywhere in a hurry, me and Draco like our arrangement."

George, Percy, Charlie and Bill were sat at the kitchen table when Hermione and Oliver came down for breakfast. Mrs. Weasley was fussing over the stove, levitating food through the kitchen to the long wooden table. Hermione was dressed in a thick cotton blue dress, quite tight in the body with opaque sleeves, they had stars stitched onto them and her tiny little bump showed. She had thick tights on and then woolen socks on top of that. Oliver was wearing jeans and a navy shirt, rolled up sleeves and open slightly at the neck. Mrs Weasley approved. "You're the only ones to actually get dressed! Heavens, I tried to get the boys to but they refused, Fleur and Gabrielle are getting ready upstairs I think. And I yelled for Ron and Harry but they didn't reply, actually Oliver could you be a dear boy and go get them? I wouldn't want them to miss breakfast." Oliver left the kitchen and Hermione squeezed herself in between George and Charlie, both of them greeting her in a brotherly hug.

"So where's Ginny?" Hermione raised an eyebrow, looking around the room.

"She's still in bed, dear. She.. She's a little worse for wear at the moment. You can go up and see if she wants to come down.."

George smirked a little and looked at Hermione, "If I were you I would just let her sleep." He carried on eating, but all of George's jokes and remarks seemed misplaced now, and they always would. He didn't have his twin by his side to finish them off, or to laugh even when they weren't funny. But Hermione played along and filled the void as best she could, "Needs to wake up on the right side of the bed, I gotcha."

Oliver knocked on the boys door and popped his head in, "Potter. Weasley." He spoke up in the voice he used for Gryffindor training and they both jumped out of bed, "Shit, what?!" Harry mumbled, looking at Oliver. "Wood, piss off." Oliver laughed and opened the curtains, "In case you'd forgotten, it's Christmas Day. Ron your mother wants both of you downstairs pronto, don't worry about getting dressed, well maybe put some pyjamas on." He raised his eyebrows when he saw the state of Ron, "But otherwise, get your arses downstairs." Oliver left the bedroom and went back to the kitchen, sitting opposite Hermione. Harry was the first to stagger out of the bedroom, and he apparently picked the wrong time to do so. He bumped into Ginny and as he looked up, she rolled her eyes.

"Heard you fly for the other team now." She mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of her eye. Even in her weary state she still managed to be sassy and cutting. "Explains why we didn't work out."

Harry crossed his arms, "Come on Ginny. Leave it."

"Leave what? I was having a friendly conversation, I don't know about you. Oh wait, maybe you don't know how to have a friendly conversation anymore. Considering you're dating Draco Malfoy."

"I can't tell what that is. It must be jealousy."

She rolled her eyes so far that Harry thought they'd never come back, "Oh yes, I'm jealous of you, dating the fucking blonde haired twat that is Malfoy. Have fun with that." She stormed off, back upstairs and to her room; Ron crept out from behind the door.

"Merlin. What's gotten into 'er?"

Harry shrugged and they made their way into the kitchen.

The table was full of laughter and teasing - they had donned their knitted jumpers. Percy, Charlie, Ron and Bill all had jumpers with their initial on them. Harry had a H too but it had a lightning bolt emblazoned on it as well ( Mrs. Weasley liked to go the extra mile for Harry ), Oliver had one with the Puddlemere logo, he tried to ask Mrs. Weasley if she would make one for all of the team but she looked at him and laughed. "How daft do you think I am? Only the team members? Would your coaches not want them too?" Hermione had one on with a H, but even she noticed that Mrs. Weasley had made it with stretch room, Fleur had a beautifully soft, dark blue one with a simple little stitched F on the corner. Hers had to be stylish, she'd refused to wear it one year because the wool scratched her skin. Bill had rolled his eyes but Mrs. Weasley engaged her and put extra effort into Fleurs. Gabrielle was sat next to Fleur, in a matching jumper with a little G stitched onto it. She hadn't said much, or eaten much, and Mrs. Weasley was unsure of what to do with her, but Fleur insisted she would gradually come out of her shell.

* * *

It was gone 10 am by the time everyone was sat in the living room around the tree. Whiskey was curled up in her basket, tucked away, she wasn't used to the commotion, if they had parties at home she stayed in Hermione's room and that worked for her. But plenty of people were paying attention to her, and Ron kept coming over and giving her biscuits so she wasn't doing that badly.

Ginny had even decided to come down, don her jumper and join in with the festivities, even if she wasn't going to eat or talk much. Mr and Mrs Weasley gave out their presents first and then Bill and Fleur handed out theirs, and so forth until there was only one present left under the tree. A small, velvet covered box, it was wrapped in a white bow and had a little tag that said 'Hermione' on it in fancy cursive. Nothing like Oliver's handwriting. He'd gotten Draco to write the tag.

Oliver got up from the floor where him and Hermione had been sat and he quickly looked at Mr Weasley who gave him a little nod and smiled. Oliver's palms were sweating and he swore he could feel himself shaking but he took the box from under the tree and walked over to Hermione. He held the box behind his back, "Could you stand up please Hermione?"

She raised an eyebrow, standing up as he got down onto one knee. She felt her heart stop, _Merlin, fuck, shit, he's doing it, he's really fucking .. shit!_

"Since the day I met you.. At the Ministry, and you hated me, I'd caused yet more paper work, I tried to pay for your coffee, which I have since found out you hate, and since that day. I just knew. I thought, Merlin, I'm going to marry that girl one day. And it never even crossed my mind that you were Hermione Granger, that you were one third of the golden trio, to me .. you will always be Hermione, and I will endeavour to love and protect you, and to run out in the middle of the night to get you coffee from the muggle place you like, and I promise to stop you working at 1 am, and follow you to every corner of the globe on your wacky adventures. I will find the rarest of books, count the constellations, complain about life, make you laugh, and probably cry. But I promise to never stop doing any of those things, and most importantly at the end of the day. I will love you, and our little one. Because there is nothing," he paused and mumbled 'apart from quidditch', "that means more to me in the world than you."

Hermione was laughing and crying, her hand on her stomach she looked at Oliver, waiting for the question.

"Will you marry me?"

She nodded quickly and knelt on the floor with him, kissing his lips briefly as he slipped the ring onto her finger. It fit perfectly, she looked around at all of her family and she hugged Oliver, whispering in his ear, "I love you. You beautiful beautiful man."

* * *

Ron was clipping Whiskey's lead to her collar, and pulling his boots on when Gabrielle appeared in the back porch, she was wearing chunky boots, tight black jeans and a large coat, with a bobble hat over her long blonde curls. "Hey. I'm about to take Whiskey out.. Do y-you want to come?" He smiled, a little nervous, but he couldn't take her eyes off of her. She was beautiful.

"Please." She said, her voice wavering slightly, but it didn't have that strong French tinge like Fleur's did. Her accent was subtle, it had a softness to it.

They were wading through the snow with Whiskey bounding along side, "So how are you liking London?" Ron smiled, trying to casually make conversation, the words instead came out stilted and flat.

"I like it. But I'm staying in student quarters and it gets cold in the winter, I don't like zis snow that you have here. It is pointless. In the Alps we have beautiful snow, you can ski and relax. This.. This is"

Ron laughed, "Not pretty? No?"

She shrugged, "I suppose so. It is pretty out here, in the countryside. But in London.. It just turns to.. oh, what do you call it?"

"Sludge?" Ron hazarded a guess and she grinned.

"Sludge! The grey stuff on the floor that makes my feet wet and cold."

"You were saying that your student quarters get cold?"

"Ah.. Yes, they're not ideal but I was unsure of how long I would be here. I'm mainly at St. Mungos, school, or Madam Malkins anyway." She blushed, she'd been talking about herself so long and she suddenly became shy again. "So, what do you do?"

"Not a lot at the moment, me and Whiskey go for long walks. I don't know what to do, as a career. I've spent the last two years in limbo, after the war. No one's encouraged me to get a job, and I haven't got a lot of internal drive to get a job because I haven't needed to."

"How come?"

"The Ministry paid us a lot.. I've looked around for volunteer work, I was busy straight after the war, with rebuilding things. But a few years later, things don't need rebuilding and there isn't much volunteer work out there. I drank a lot too, so working with children was always out of the picture, and I barely sleep." He was telling her anything and everything and he found he didn't care, offloading onto her was easy and carefree.

"Oh you poor thing. Is it because of the nightmares, is that why you don't sleep?"

He nodded, "How could you know about all of this? You must've been 15 when the war broke out."

"We get a lot of patients at the hospital, with PTSD."

"PTSD?"

"Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, it gives symptoms such as insomnia, lack of appetite, night terrors.. You name it. I feel for the people that suffer, there is nothing they can do really and I so desperately want to help them."

They had been walking for some time now, and the sun was starting to set. Gabrielle had never looked so beautiful, the light caught her skin, her hair, her eyes perfectly. "Gabrielle.. I hate to be forward, but I have to ask. Would you, maybe, want to go on a date with me?"

She bit her lip, nodding. "I would like that very much."

Ron smiled and she slipped her gloved hand into his, looking up at him. She wasn't tall like Fleur, she probably reached 5'4 or 5'5 if she was lucky, with a delicate build, long blonde hair and pale skin. After some time in a comfortable silence Gabrielle spoke up, asking him about Whiskey. They talked for at least half an hour about her, what she liked and disliked, when he first got her, they managed to get onto the subject of Katie Bell and Gabrielle couldn't stop laughing, of how Ron fell for a girl that was engaged, to another girl. Ron was so easy to talk to, and she felt at home talking to him. Unlike the boys back in France. They finally wandered back to the Burrow and they let go of each others hands, it was the last thing that either of them wanted. Bill and Fleur would probably have a lot to say on the matter of them going out on a date, but Ron found he didn't care.

* * *

Ginny had snuck back up to her bedroom, she'd unlocked the door to the roof and was sat in a little flat alcove, burning a small fire to keep warm, wrapped up in a blanket. She couldn't help but cry, being back at the Burrow, it was hard. She had this tough exterior, and whenever it was cracking she found it easier to just be on her own, her mother said she was being difficult, but that was much better than Mrs. Weasley knowing she wasn't coping. Hermione had looked around the living room, and couldn't see Ginny anywhere so she ran up to her room and followed the faint burning smell.

"Ginny.." She whispered, walking onto the alcove. "Hey, it's Hermione."

Ginny pulled the blankets away from her face and wiped her eyes, "Hey. Sorry.. I'm in a bit of a state."

Hermione quickly moved to be next to her and took her into her arms, Ginny melted into the hug, she'd missed Hermione. She couldn't stop herself from crying again, and the older sister figure of Hermione held her tight and rubbed her back. "It's okay."

After a little while, Ginny had managed to regain her composure, she was curled up against Hermione, her head rested in her lap. "What's happened Gin?"

So she told her everything, the nightmares, the insomnia, the sick feeling she got when she tried to eat, the mood swings, the overwhelming need to just be alone. She told her that when she was travelling there were no reminders of the war, nothing. It was easy. But she couldn't travel forever, she'd have to come home and when she came home she broke down again. Nothing felt familiar or comforting anymore, it was all cold and harsh and everything made her angry. She flipped out on her brothers on a daily basis, because they looked like Fred. Sometimes she would just fly around in the sky, and close her eyes, ignoring the world, pretending it didn't happen. She mumbled the last bit, but Hermione heard her. "It got so bad.. I couldn't find a way of getting rid of my anger so I took it out on myself." Hermione looked at her and kissed her forehead gently, "Where?" So, slowly but surely Ginny rolled up her sleeve and showed her the cuts. There weren't many, but Hermione knew that Ginny needed help. After speaking to Gabrielle earlier in the day, and from her own experiences, Hermione quickly recognised Ginny's symptoms as severe PTSD. "You're going to come home with me and the boys tonight, I'll tell your mum you're coming to do the Boxing Day sales with us etcetera. Then tomorrow morning I'm taking you to the private ward at St. Mungos, Ginny you're going to be okay. They work wonders there, you're going to feel like yourself again, I promise."


	19. Chapter 19

"Hermione we can go back now, you can forget what you saw of me at Christmas, I swear I'm feeling so much better."

Hermione rolled her eyes, she'd seen this countless times before, she saw it in Neville at first, she definitely saw it in Ron. However Ron gave himself a drink to lean on, in the hard years. Now, 2 years later he found life easier and therefore the need for alcohol was easier to combat. Ginny still didn't find life easier. Hermione grabbed Ginny's arm and pulled her into the hospital, through the wards and to the private one at the far corner of St. Mungo's. Ginny squirmed and grumbled until she was stood outside a private room, with the letters clearly written on the door. _Healer Turbs, Specialist in Psychotherapy._ Ginny turned to Hermione one last time, glanced at her stomach and took a deep breath. "Stay with me?" She mumbled, nervous as hell.

"Where else would I be, Gin?" Hermione kissed her forehead, and walked into the office with her. Ginny took her seat on one of the sofa's, it was roll top leather and it was a dark blue in colour. It was cold in the office but most of St. Mungo's was cold, and it was the middle of winter - she shouldn't really have expected anything else. The room was made out of brick which was left bare in patches, and painted white in others. Healer Turbs, had photos of himself with another man, they were wearing suits and had confetti being thrown over them and Ginny presumed it must've been a wedding, or their wedding. There was a large desk at one end of the room, with a muggle laptop on it, and photographs of twins, a boy and a girl, who couldn't be much older than 10. He had a pot of ball point pens on his desk, another clue to suggest he was muggle born, and a coat stand in the corner with a few umbrellas abandoned in it. His white doctor coat was hanging on the hook, but he was no where to be seen. Hermione took a seat next to Ginny and smiled gently. "Does he make it a habit to be late to appointments?" Ginny joked, trying to break the tension in the air.

Hermione was about to reply when the door opened and Healer Turbs walked in, he was in his early 30's and was what you would typically describe as tall, dark and handsome. He had slightly curly, slightly unruly chestnut hair, with dark brown eyes and tanned skin, he had stubble around his face and wore slack black trousers with a white shirt tucked in. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and it was unbuttoned at the neck, his tie was creeping out of his pocket. He had loafers on and was carrying a muggle mobile phone. "I'm sorry I'm late." He had a soft British accent but with a hint of something else, could be Australian? Many wizards emigrated there before the whole war started, wanted to have a better life, fleeing conflict. "I'm Healer Turbs, but please call me Dan. Only Healer Montgomery calls me Healer Turbs and to be frank it makes me feel old." He took a seat on the sofa opposite, after grabbing his large notebook and flicking to a new page which he entitled 'Weasley, Ginny.'

The two women laughed, and then got down to the appointment. Ginny felt at ease in his company and couldn't help but wonder how he was a specialist so young. He wore a wedding ring, and inwardly Ginny cursed. The appointment had no finite time frame, but Hermione had received an urgent page from work. "Ginny, I'm going to have to go. Work needs me, Merlin knows whats happened now but if it's that damn Wood again." Ginny laughed and let her go.

Dan spoke up, "Damn Wood boy?" He laughed.

"It's her fiance." Ginny smiled, laughing, she tucked her legs up onto the sofa.

"Sorry, I always forget this. Would you like a blanket? My office is terribly cold and they haven't done anything about it. I've been here two years."

"Ah, is that when you moved to London?"

He nodded, "Me and my family moved from Melbourne, after the war had ended. I grew up in muggle London until I went to Hogwarts, but me and my husband decided to take our children away from England during the war, neither of us believed it was a safe place for children to grow up so I took a sabbatical from work to live in Melbourne and my husband continued to do his job abroad."

"I knew I heard faint Aussie in there. I travelled to Australia a lot, it's so laid back there. I loved it."

"It was nice, but England will always be my home. St. Mungo's has this special aura around it that makes anyone feel safe, and working in the private ward most of the time helps."

"I can imagine. It's the first time since I came back from Singapore that I've felt safe anywhere.."

"It's charmed to be like that, I'm afraid. I'd love to say that it's just my company, but it's not. Do you have problems feeling safe? Is it to do with your residences or something else?"

"Well I live with my mum and dad when I'm not travelling, but in the last two years I've been at home for a total of three weeks."

"Where else have you been?" He was surprised, she hopped from place to place but never stayed put which worried him in how he was going to manage her condition.

"Travelling. I never stayed in one city or town for more than a week, I used to be scared that someone would find me. I didn't want to be found, not even by my closest friends and family."

"And now people have got back on with their own lives, haven't they? So you're not as scared people will come looking for you.."

Ginny looked down and pulled the blanket tighter around herself, she nodded, ashamed to admit it. She felt like she no longer needed people, but curled up around Hermione showed her that she was completely the opposite.

"We'll talk about that in another session, when you're ready. Can I do a physical for you please?"

She nodded and stood up, got changed behind the screen into a hospital gown, he weighed her and measured her height, writing it all down. He checked her cuts over, then looked for bruises, asked how much she could eat in one go, and then he asked how much sleep she got. She sat down on the sofa and he tended to her cuts, which had become sore and slightly infected. He was gentle and thorough and she trusted him, he promised he wouldn't give her potions or medication, just talking. If she needed him she could owl him at any time, and they arranged for 3 appointments all with an infinite time each week. Ginny was sat on his desk, waiting for him to come back from arranging their schedule with a receptionist, she picked up a photo album and started to flick through it, he had a beautiful family, and his husband clearly adored him.

"They're sweet, right?" He had walked back into the room, observing how she reacted to the album.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to pry, I was just intrigued. You're so young, a specialist, married with ten year olds?" She hazarded a guess and he nodded, "I met Alfie when I was young, at Hogwarts in our 6th year. We dated secretly, got married when we were 22 and then adopted the twins when we were 23. I'm 32 now."

"You barely know me, yet you're so open about your private life."

"You trust me with your soul. Your deepest darkest secrets, things you haven't even told your parents. You deserve to know about my family, a little bit about me. I don't tell the crack pots, believe me. But you're okay Ginny, just a bit bruised. You're going to heal."

She looked up at him and felt an overwhelming need to cry, "You think so?" she mumbled. She was scared, lost and confused, but for the first time since she was 16, she felt like she would pull through.

He nodded and squeezed her hand, "I know so. I know you're a tough cookie, and that you find life challenging, which makes you even tougher. Where are you going to live, from now on?"

"In London. With Hermione, Harry and my brother."

"Good. You need a permanent home. Somewhere that you feel safe, with people that have been through or are going through the same things as you. Now. I will see you for our next appointment after New Year."

"I'm sorry you had to come in on Boxing Day."

"Eh, don't worry about it. My husband has taken the children sledging and then we can cook dinner later and chill out. Christmas was a bit of a wild one."

She laughed and pulled her jacket on, "Can I use the floo?"

"Of course, the powder is in that black box above the mantle piece."

* * *

Ginny jumped into the Floo and found she was redirected to Draco's house. "Sorry.. I was meant to go to Harry and Ron's." Hermione was also sat on the sofa, curled up. She looked like she'd been crying.

"Hermione.. What's happened? Why are we being redirected here?"

"There's been an attack on the house. They're all okay, no injuries. Oliver, Harry and Ron are in there. Whiskey too." Draco spoke up.

"An attack? By who? What sort of attack?!"

"Gin, calm down. Come here," Hermione managed to speak, she opened her arms up and Ginny quickly hugged her and then held her close. "We're not sure if it's muggle or wizarding yet. We'll find out soon. I suspect it's just some hoax scare, you know, the kids of death eaters, wanting a bit of revenge. It happens sometimes. We soon forget all about it ever happening. It's the best thing to do really."

Ginny took slow breaths, thought about what Dan told her to do when she panicked, "Hermione you need to look after yourself. Don't stress. You're looking after a little bubba now too."

* * *

Oliver, Harry, Ron and Whiskey were all in Harry's room. The door had been locked, the windows taped and the curtains drawn, they were sat on the floor, trying their best to keep calm, but they had no idea what was going on, and they'd been like this for 4 hours.

"I can't keep this to myself, I've got to tell you guys." Ron muttered.

Oliver raised an eyebrow, "What..?"

Whiskey barked and Harry quickly shushed her.

"You know Gabrielle, Fleur's sister?" They both nodded and looked at Ron. "Well.. We went for a walk yesterday, and I may have asked her on a date, and she may have said yes."

"Way to go Weasley!" Oliver grinned, shaking his hand. "Be good to her, take her somewhere nice."

Harry grinned too, "I'm happy for you. You and Hermione.. you weren't meant to be."

Ron shrugged and nodded, "I know. But it was better we tried right?"

"Tried? You were like rabbits mate. Living with the both of you was hard work." Harry teased, and Oliver sat laughing in the corner.

"Woah, that's my fiancée you're talking about. Can we not?"

The two men laughed and grinned cheekily at Oliver, "Sorry mate, but you realise how lucky you are to have her. She's stunning. I should have realised that when we were dating."

"She is flawless.. I can't wait till she's got a bump and everything. And people say she's not a good quidditch girlfriend. Bollocks to the lot of them. We're the first ones in the team to have kids, to get married. The rest of my team have fake girlfriends that just use all of their money to renovate the house or flat or buy expensive shit."

Harry laughed, "Wood.. where do you actually live?" Obviously Hermione had been over, but not much, and they never heard anything about his apartment.

"Knightsbridge, 3 bedroom apartment. It's like four streets away from here. How else do I walk here so quickly?"

Ron and Harry shrugged. "So, what do you want the baby to be?"

"I just want it to be happy and healthy."

Ron raised an eyebrow, "What do you really want it to be?"

Oliver laughed and looked at Ron and Harry, "A boy."


	20. Chapter 20

This is my favourite chapter yet so it would be great to hear what you guys think, and I'm sorry I don't update as regularly now, it's a little sporadic.. In the beginning I had a bank of chapters in my doc manager but now I have to write one every time I post a new chapter. Lots of excuses, but most of the chapters are over 2,000 words and that's a lot of words. Anyway. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

* * *

Harry, Ron and Oliver were tired, hungry and nervous. They'd been locked into Harry's room for several hours now, and all they could hear was the occasional pitter patter of a mouse or the late London traffic in the distance. Hermione, Draco and Ginny were becoming more nervous by the second, until the Auror on duty came knocking on Draco's front door. "We're ready to go in now." He said, his voice was deep and monotone, and he had a stoic figure. Draco nodded, "Great. Let us know when they're out."

About an hour later, the three men and Whiskey walked out of the front of the house onto the dark, cold street, they were greeted by Hermione, Draco and Ginny who looked tired and emotionally drained. Oliver ran out of the house, past the medic who desperately wanted to give him a blanket, and wrapped his arms around Hermione. She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed his lips gently, "You really should get checked over by the medic, Ollie."

"Nothing happened to me. It was just a scare, you know how they are." He had his arms wrapped around her, and she had her head rested against his chest. "Please, for me. Go get checked."

Ron and Harry were sat with blankets over their shoulders on the curb, with two medi-witches fussing over them. The older of the two women looked up when Oliver walked over, "Thank Merlin. Sit! Sit." He sat down and she wrapped a blanket around him, then continued to fuss over Harry. Oliver looked over to Hermione with pleading eyes, and she shook her head, going to talk to the grumpy, deep voiced Auror about when she could go back into her house. The whole scene had a disillusionment charm placed across it, if the average muggle were to see it, there would have been a break in, which the muggle police were dealing with along with two paramedics. The muggle in question would feel no need or want to help the situation and would just carry on with their day to day life, they may feel perplexed but other than that no harm would be done.

"Me and Hermione were meant to be going up to Aviemore this evening, not sure if she'll still want to go now though.."

Ron raised an eyebrow, "Getting away from what happened? Of course she'll want to go, besides, Hermione loves to ski."

"She does?" Harry laughed, joining in on the conversation. "I never knew that."

"Her parents used to take her to France every February when she was younger. I think she learnt to ski when she was about 3?"

"Well if you guys don't feel safe in the house over New Year you're more than welcome to come up to the lodge. We've got loads of space. And my parents are only staying tonight and then they've got to go home. Mum's throwing some sort of gala thing, in aid of something or other. Not quite sure."

* * *

"Hermione, have you got everything?" Oliver shouted down the staircase, she was stood at the bottom looking for her other fur-lined boot.

"NEARLY!" She shouted back, laughing at Oliver lugging the suitcases down the stairs. "Shit! I've forgotten my skis!" Hermione heard him shout as he was almost half way down the stairs with three bags.

"No offence babe but what have you got in here? We're only going for a week."

"Oliver you don't understand how much you need to pack for skiing, clearly."

He rolled his eyes and sent the luggage to the lodge, feeling thick for not sending it to the Lodge from upstairs. He hoped Hermione just wouldn't notice.

Ten minutes later they were both stood in front of the Floo, ready to go. Hermione was wearing tight black jeans with her suede himalaya boots, a thick grey jumper and her ski jacket, she looked good for someone who had been awake from 5 am, taken Ginny to the hospital, gone to work, found that her husband to be was trapped in her house with her two best friends and then had had to pack. Oliver however could've looked better. Which his mother told him as soon as they got to the lodge.

"Mum, Dad. This is Hermione." Oliver introduced her and Mrs. Wood hugged her quickly, and Mr. Wood shook her hand.

"It's so lovely to meet you dear, we've heard so much about you!" Mrs. Wood gushed and Hermione smiled, using the classic line, "All good I hope."

"Of course. We've never seen Oliver so besotted. And he's certainly never brought a girl to the Lodge before." Mr. Wood grinned, "Anyone for wine?"

Hermione looked at Oliver and raised an eyebrow, _SHIT._ He knew he'd forgotten to tell them something, and themselves or their circle of friends don't read the newspapers. The four of them had walked into the large open kitchen and the house elf was arranging four glasses of wine. Hermione politely took a glass and pretended to drink it. She kicked Oliver and whispered in his ear, "Tell them. Now." He nodded quickly, he'd completely forgotten how scary she could be when she felt like it.

"Mum, Dad, you better sit down. We have news."

Mr and Mrs Wood both sat on the large sofa, it was a light brown corner sofa with multi coloured cushions and a tattered old Gryffindor blanket from when Mr Wood was at school. The cabin had one main room with tall ceilings and then the bedrooms along with bathrooms were on the upper floor. The walls were made of light wood which had faded and changed colour over the years along with the floor, but there were so many rugs on the floor that it was hard to tell the colour of the wood. In front of the sofa was a long coffee table with a selection of candles and a bowl of chocolates, and then opposite the sofa was an ottoman with a large furry blanket draped over it. The christmas tree was still up in the corner of the room by the large windows and sliding glass doors which opened out onto a veranda. The veranda had a path that led to the slopes, or if you took the other path, led you to a hot tub large enough for 8 adults, nestled away in the snow. It was sheltered by tall alpine trees and was seldom used, Mr and Mrs Wood were not big fans.

In the rest of the main room there was a long table which sat 10 people, it had square grey chairs sat around it, with various soft furnishings adorning them. The kitchen had a breakfast bar with two of the same chairs but in the tall variety and the kitchen was all shiny titanium appliances and polished concrete work surfaces, there was a wine cellar beside the boot room in the basement, but their house elf, Shelly, always made sure there was a bottle of red, white and Prosecco in the kitchen.

"Hermione and I are pregnant." Oliver spoke clearly, looking both of his parents in the eye.

Mr. Wood choked on his wine, and Mrs Wood sat with her jaw on the floor. "How far along?" She managed to mumble, still shocked.

Hermione had her hand resting against her stomach, "About 4 weeks now. You know how precise wizarding pregnancies are nowadays, I knew from about a week, maybe 10 days that I was pregnant. Oliver, here, just neglected to mention it." She smiled sweetly at Oliver and he grimaced, "I'm sorry that I forgot to tell you, I was busy deciding on rings, if you remember rightly."

Mr Wood shook Oliver's hand and hugged Hermione, "Welcome to the family." He said, kissing her cheek. Mrs Wood took Hermione's hand looking at the ring. It was a clear cut diamond, not too big, not too small, on a soft silver band with 'Law breaker' written on the inside. Hermione didn't show people that, but she found comfort and amusement in knowing it was there. Their own private joke. It was coming up for midnight by the time they'd all settled down and Mrs Wood had gotten Hermione a hot chocolate, instead of the glass of wine she'd been awkwardly holding since they arrived.

"I think we'd better get to bed, dear. We've got to travel home tomorrow morning."

Hermione looked up, "So soon? I thought you were staying for New Year."

"We have to get back for the gala, but we should get dinner soon. The four of us. I can't believe I'm going to be a grandma!" Mrs Wood grinned, hugging Hermione once more before they both made their way off to bed. Hermione and Oliver retreated to the sofa and snuggled up together, watching the snow fall outside.

"Hey, I've heard a rumour that you can ski."

"I'm not bad.. I haven't skied since I was 11, but I used to go every year, I even competed casually for a little while. Do you have spare skis in a 160?"

Oliver nodded, "You're about the same height as my mum, so you can use her ones from when she was 20. I'll get them properly laid up for you in the morning."

She kissed him sweetly, "Thank you."

"Are you sure you should be skiing whilst you're pregnant?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "It's no bigger than a guinea pig at the moment, I'm sure it'll be fine."

"You talk about our unborn child with such love and affection," he teased and she grabbed one of the cushions, hitting him with it.

"Owch! You pack a punch for someone so small!" she rolled her eyes and hit him again, with every hit she spoke, "Are. You. Quite. Done?!"

He laughed and squirmed, she had straddled his lap and wasn't letting him go. "I'm done! I'm done!" He yelped. She put the cushion down. "Oh if only your team mates could see you now. Defeated by a cushion." She bit her lip and smiled at him shyly, the lodge had fallen quiet and he reached up to tuck a curl of hers behind her ear.

"My parents seemed to like you." He spoke quietly, not wishing to disturb the peace.

"You think so?"

"Yeah. My Dad's not really a hugger and you got two. Be grateful."

She laughed and slipped her engagement ring off, looking at the inside. "I never got to tell you how much I love this. Today, when you were in lock down.. I was so worried."

"You didn't need to be worried. I was fine."

"But I didn't know that.. The Aurors weren't telling us anything and Ginny had gotten all wound up, which made me more nervous."

He rubbed her back, and quickly changed the topic. "How was Ginny's appointment? Did she have the grumpy one?"

Hermione laughed, "Healer Montgomery you mean? He's not grumpy, only if you catch him on a bad day. Maybe he didn't like you." She teased gently, "No, Ginny got the specialist. Healer Turbs, or Dan as he prefers. He was really lovely actually. Maybe you were in 1st year when he was in 7th? He said he was Ravenclaw though."

Oliver shrugged, "Don't remember, but if he was a booky sort of person then I wouldn't have seen him much. Didn't go into the library once in my 1st year."

"Impressive." She rolled her eyes, "But seriously, him and Ginny seemed to make real progress. He promised her she wouldn't have to take potions or medications, which was important to her. He really capitalised on what she needed, and knew when not to push her."

"That's good. I never asked, did you ever have therapy?"

She shook her head, "I started work so soon, it distracted me, and then I had a routine, so I never actually dealt with my issues. I probably should have had therapy, but then you came along and I found talking to you helped me just as much as an overly priced shrink."

"Hey, I went to one of those overly priced shrinks."

"How helpful was it?"

"Not sure. Managed to get back on my broom though."

"Did you not go to a shrink because of the war?"

"Nope. I had an accident flying and then couldn't get back on my broom without flash backs."

Hermione stifled her giggle, "I'm sorry. It's not funny. It's just so you." She smiled and looked at him, then kissed him softly. She snuggled up to him, then fell asleep in his arms. Oliver easily scooped her up and carried her to bed, she'd have to eat way more if this baby had a chance of being a healthy weight, he thought to himself.

Oliver had finally settled himself into bed with Hermione curled up beside him when an owls beak tapped on the glass. He grumbled and got up to open the window and took the note.

 _Can we still come up for New Year? - Ron_

Oliver scribbled back yes and asked how many, then got into bed, excited to surprise Hermione with their friends the following evening. Draco had come home from his mothers early, so he was going to come up too with Scorpius.


	21. Chapter 21

The sun was just rising over the mountains, it had a soft orange glow to it which filled the mountain range, the wide blue skies were setting an idyllic scene for skiers and snowboarders alike. A few people had already carved out paths on the mountain side, eager to catch the first of the powder, safe to say most of the tracks were from snowboards, seldom skiers entertained the freshly laid powder. There were two hotels on the wizarding side of Aviemore, both had few rooms and expensive rates, as most people owned chalet's or rented them out. Bars littered the main street along with a handful of restaurants boasting hearty Scottish food and the odd pizzeria and small bites. Right at the end of the main street lay an old battered shack which housed the ski and board rental shop, it was transfigured, like many of the shops and restaurants to be so unappealing to muggles, that if they happened to break through the wards and stumble across it; they wouldn't dare to venture in. Yet on the inside, the ski shop had rows upon rows of multicoloured boards and skis stacked high to the ceiling, the staff grabbing them from all angles and levitating them until the purchase had been made. It was chaos, but Oliver had spent many a happy afternoon in there getting new skis and trying out the different styles.

Oliver was sat at the large table, wearing a battered Hurley sweatshirt and checked pyjama bottoms, they were tatty but he loved how soft they had gotten, even if his mother frequently told him that he'd had those pyjamas since he was at Hogwarts, and he earned good money now so he should probably buy a new pair. He always told her that wasn't the point. Oliver's hair had grown out and was disheveled from his restless sleep - Hermione had had bad nausea from the altitude and the pregnancy and was throwing up for most of the night. She finally managed to settle herself so Oliver had left her sleeping.

"Are you sure Hermione is okay? I could go bring her some of my herbal remedy tea." Mrs. Wood spoke up, getting up from the table. She may be the perfect wife, perfect business woman and all around busy body but she always had time for her son, and now her daughter-in-law to be.

"Aye Mum, stop fussing. She'll be fine. It's just the altitude and the pregnancy, it's a bad combination. She's sleeping it off now though, so hopefully she'll be alright by the time our friends get up here." Mr. Wood was sat opposite his son, smiling proudly at how he was handling the situation, a year ago he would have never seen his son caring for a girl like this - he had grown tiresome of waiting for grandchildren and for Oliver to finally settle down.

"Now, I've left the bedding for your friends in the airing cupboard, and if you should need extra just find Shelly. She's said that she'll cook your dinner and lunch if you request, but breakfast will be laid out buffet style from 7 in the morning. Shelly doesn't work between 8-12 so I expect you to clean up after yourselves, and for Merlin's sake don't drink too much of the wine cellar, your father nearly had a heart attack after last time."

"Please don't remind me, the amount of galleons that cost me to replace the 1978 bottle of Merlot. Merlin." He muttered merlin quietly, going back to his cereal.

"I won't! Ron's t-total, Hermione's pregnant, Draco is bringing his son so won't be drinking much, which leaves me, Harry and Ginny, and I'm not sure what the situation is with Ginny and alcohol, but she's suffering with PTSD at the moment so I don't think that getting hammered will be her main goal this week."

The two of them sat in shock, Mrs. Wood extremely surprised by his new group of friends. "Well. Okay. The spare skis are in the boot room. They do ski, I presume?"

He laughed, "I bloody well hope so."

* * *

A port key had been set up so that people could easily get to and fro Aviemore, so Draco, Harry and Scorpius decided that would be the easiest mode of transport for them, Scorpius didn't really enjoy apparation, and they couldn't floo. Whereas Ginny, Ron and Gabrielle were going to floo up. One by one they stumbled onto the rug in the living room, blinking their eyes quickly and brushing the dust off from the seldom used Floo Network. Shelly cleaned it every six months, but it was a big job and she only did it when she had a week to give it a 'good go' as she put it.

Gabrielle stood in a wrap around knit dress, thick tights and knee length fur boots, she had a thick ski parka on over the top and a knitted beanie over her long curled locks, safe to say Ron couldn't keep his eyes off her. Ginny was looking better than she had in ages and Harry had laid to rest her grouchy attitude towards him, he understood that she wasn't coping well, the Ginny that argued with him on Christmas day wasn't the Ginny he knew. Oliver greeted them all warmly, and settled everyone down with a mug of tea, coffee or hot chocolate. A snow storm had started to emerge mid afternoon and all skiing on the mountain was closed off, he'd managed to get a few runs before lunch but then he'd gone back to check on Hermione. She was still sleeping, and Oliver knew not to wake her up from her slumber.

"Do you think Harry and Draco will be alright making their way up here?" Ron spoke up, nurturing his coffee. As soon as he spoke Gabrielle looked at him, and bit her lip, she was apparently as infatuated as Ron was with her.

"I'm not sure, I've asked Huw to pick them up, he has a muggle car, it's unusual in the resort, but the most helpful thing in a storm. Brooms go hay wire and unless you ask kindly to borrow someone's Floo you've got no hope. He lives in the chalet next door so he said he'd get them at quarter past two, so around ten or twenty minutes and they should be here."

"Merlin, don't tell Dad you know someone with a car. He'll never stop talking about it." Ron laughed, getting up to put his coffee mug on the side. "So where's Hermione?"

"Cheers pal." Oliver nodded to Ron, and then answered his question, "She's not feeling very well, the mix of altitude and pregnancy has made her throw up pretty much all night."

Ginny and Gabrielle both adorned concerned faces, "Do you think she'll be alright for tonight? I'd hate for her to miss New Years!" Ginny spoke up, snuggled underneath a blanket. She had been excited to see Hermione again, and was a little disappointed and upset for Hermione that she was ill on one of Hermione's favourite holidays.

"Aye she'll power through, my girl's made of strong stuff."

Ron smirked, "Don't we know it."

* * *

Finally Harry and Draco had managed to battle through the weather, Harry knocked on the front door whilst Draco tried to calm Scorpius down, he'd had a long day and had never travelled in a car before. They had enough luggage for a month, both of the men had two bags on their back that they'd gotten from a muggle shop called North Face, one of the bags was bright yellow and the other was blue - they'd put charms on them so they could fit their Draco's skis and Harry's snowboard.

Oliver opened up the door and welcomed them in quickly, Scorpius was still crying. "What's up with the little guy?"

"Long day. He's tired." Draco looked tired too, the incessant crying of a two year old is hard to cope with after a while.

"I'll show you guys to your room, then he can lay down for a nap. Yeah?"

Draco nodded, "Sounds great."

The two men said their hello's to the other, Oliver repeated for the fourth time today where Hermione was and then Oliver took them up to their room. It had a mix of wooden and stone walls, the house dated back hundreds of years and so it had a rustic feel to it. The fireplace was prepped and ready to light if they so wished, and a large painting of Wood Manor hung above the hearth. The floor was wooden but it had a large cream rug over it to trap some of the heat inside the room, there was a corner alcove by the big windows that was made of stone. It could comfortably seat two people and was covered in throws, cushions and had two draught excluders by the windows. There was a large king sized bed facing out onto the mountains, it had an impressive head board with intricate sewn detail. The bed too was covered in throws, blankets and pillows of different textures, shapes and sizes. There was two bedside tables with a lamp on each, and Scorpius' crib was in the corner, all set up for him. Another door led to an ensuite which housed a shower and a bath etc.

"Merlin, this place must've cost your parents a fortune, Wood." Draco looked around and looked at the view, "We have a chalet in France but it's nothing compared to this."

Oliver shrugged, "Both of my parents work hard, we come from old money anyway, so they can afford it." He left the two men to sort themselves out, and went back downstairs.

"Sit down Draco, I'll sort Scorpius out." Harry took Scorpius from Draco's arms and got him changed into his onesie, then lay him down in the crib, handing him his ted and pulling the blankets over him. Draco unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off, going into one of the bags to find a more suitable outfit. But Harry wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, hugging him from behind. He kissed gently along his shoulder blade, and Draco smiled leaning into Harry. "We should go downstairs, they're going to start wondering where we are." Harry smirked a little, "Let them wonder."

Meanwhile downstairs, Hermione had finally gotten up. She was wearing one of Oliver's Puddlemere jerseys and leggings, her hair was tied back in a messy bun and she was sans make up. She had been laying in bed when she heard Harry and Draco come through the front door, it must've been Oliver's doing. Hermione had said her hello's and welcomed them to the chalet, apologised for her being in bed when they arrived and now she was sat in Oliver's lap.

Ginny yawned a little and pulled the blankets around her closer, "Ollie, we should show them the chalet and where they'll be sleeping and then we can decide on food for tonight!" Oliver nodded, laughing a little because of the excitement Hermione displayed for food. When he first met her she survived on coffee alone.

The five of them got up and Oliver went downstairs to the boot room to organise everything, he'd found the right size skis for everyone, and some spare boots for Gabrielle. She didn't know how to ski yet but Ron had promised he would teach her. Hermione took Ron, Ginny and Gabrielle up to the bunk room. "So this is the bunk room, I'm sorry you're sharing but the other guest room is currently having renovation work done to it." It didn't bother the three of them in the slightest, the room was beautiful much like the rest of the house. It had three steps down into the room which had wood for the floor and wood for the walls like the other bedrooms. Right by the foot of the stairs there was a basket with towels neatly rolled up inside of it and then another basket on top with little shampoo's and shower gels. The room had 5 single beds in it - it had one on its own against a wall, with crisp white sheets and a white and grey checked duvet. Each bed had a faux fur blanket on it and a couple of pillows. The other four beds were in a built in style, two on the floor with storage underneath and then a ladder between those two up to bunk beds. All the beds had matching bedding. There were two large skylights in the ceiling which were charmed to melt snow as soon as it hit the window, so there would always be a clear view out of the window - except from in storms like today. There was a large wardrobe with partitions so that all 5 people had enough space for their clothes, it was expected that guests left their boots or shoes downstairs in the hallway or boot room. Shelly had high standards.

"I call dibs on that bed!" Ron called out, jumping on the bed that was against the wall on its own. This didn't bother Gabrielle or Ginny, they both opted for the beds on the floor instead of the bunk beds. Gabrielle fell back onto her bed and sighed at how comfortable it was, "Zis is so much better than my healer quarters. My bunk bed there is three up and I get a terrible draught." Her r's rolled when she said terrible and Ron couldn't help but smile.

"What's got you laughing, Ronald?" She exclaimed, sitting up.

"Nothing, Gabrielle." He got up from his bed, put his belongings away into the storage or into the cupboard. "I'll give you guys some privacy." He said, walking up the staircase and out of the room.

* * *

Oliver and Hermione were sat on the couch, "Should we just order some take away? I told Shelly that she could have the night off." Oliver rolled his eyes, "She was more than happy to cook dinner." Hermione shrugged, "I know but this way she can go out with her friends and I can have chinese or dumplings or pizza. Or all three."

"Merlin, you've got your appetite back. Are you feeling okay now?"

"Much better. I'm just disappointed I can't have any champagne at midnight!"

"You think you'll make it to midnight?"

"It's 9 now! If we order our food when everyone's down here, then you and the boys can Floo down into town and get it, it'll be on the table by 10 at the latest."

Slowly everyone came downstairs and they wrote down a list of what they were getting, two 15" cheese pizza's, dumplings in beef stew, sweet and sour chicken, with white rice and egg fried rice, fortune cookies, chicken chow mein and pork foo yung. They were also going to get two bottles of non-alcoholic fizz when they were in town and some chocolate, marshmallows and biscuits to make smores with. Hermione sent Harry, Oliver, Ron and Draco out to get the separate takeaways and the other bits and pieces.

"So, you and Ron, eh Gabrielle?" Hermione smirked, eager to know the gossip. She was setting the table for 7 people, and decorating it with her usual high calibre.

Gabrielle blushed instantly, "We've not even been on our first date yet."

"But you fancy him? Right?" Ginny joined in, happy to see her brother with a normal girl for once.

She nodded and got more glasses out of the cupboard to hide her face. "He's going to teach me to ski so hopefully zat will mean he gets to like me too. Is that how you say it?"

Hermione shrugged, "More or less. So I'm just doing the seating arrangement now.. Would you rather sit opposite or next to him? I could put you at the head of the table."

She walked over and took a look at the big table, "Hmm, I'll sit at the head with Ginny on one side and Ron on the other. Then I think you and Oliver should sit next to each other, you next to Ginny and Oliver next to you. Then Harry next to Ron and Draco next to Harry. No arguments then."

Ginny stood in shock, Gabrielle knew exactly who could butt heads, and had managed to find a seating arrangement that everyone would be pleased with. "You're going to fit right in." She smiled at Gabrielle and Gabrielle giggled, "When is your next therapy session?"

"What? How do you know?"

"I was the person who brought in the hospital gown for your physical, don't worry I'll keep it to myself."

"I'm sorry I didn't recognise you. I was a little caught up in my own.. little world."

And at that point Hermione heard Scorpius crying from the guest room, "I'm going to go get him, when the boys arrive can you put everything into the serving dishes over there and then make sure everything is hot."

Hermione scooped up Scorpius and sat on the nook in the corner of their room, he sat on her lap happily and she brushed the tears away from his face. "You're going to love having someone to play with." Hermione said quietly, resting a hand on her stomach. Scorpius giggled, "In there?" He said, looking perplexed. "Yup, in there. I know, it's weird isn't it?"


	22. Chapter 22

Jeez, this is 3,300 words with one line break. Sorry! But the next chapter is much.. much shorter.

* * *

All seven of them were sat around the table, moving food from dish to plate and exchanging conversation easily. Hermione looked around and smiled, these people are her family, and she wouldn't change them for anything. Gabrielle and Ron were teasing each other and occasionally stealing each other's food - which was cute to watch for a while but it eventually got boring, so Ginny turned to Hermione.

"Have you thought about a date yet for the wedding?"

Hermione was munching her way through half a pizza and healthy portions of dumplings and chinese, they'd gotten her a bag of prawn crackers too - just for herself. She couldn't be happier. "Er, not really. I don't want to be pregnant, or feeding the baby when I get married because I want to feel beautiful. But then we have Ollie's Quidditch schedule to work around and my hectic work schedule, when we get back in January I've set a meeting with Kinglsey to let him know that I'm pregnant so he can start to find my maternity cover but the person has to be right of course-"

Ginny took Hermione's hands that had been flapping around in the air, and looked her dead in the eye. "Take a breath. That baby in there needs some oxygen too you know."

Hermione smiled at Ginny, a secret shy smile that she reserved for the intimate moments in her life. "You don't understand how much I've missed you Gin. These boys," she looked around the table at Harry, Draco and Oliver having a laugh and chatting generally, then at Ron and Gabrielle flirting and teasing at the end of the table, "They mean the world to me, but in these past few months or years I guess, I haven't had a lot of female company. Fleur is great but she's not you."

"And as much as I've loved travelling and meeting new people, it got really lonely. I know that I was escaping from my home but you're part of that too and there wasn't a day I didn't miss you. Dan taught me that as much as I want to escape the painful memories, only those people that are in those painful memories will be able to help me out of it at the end."

Hermione reached across and hugged her, and kissed her forehead gently. "You're going to be okay, you're getting the right help, I'm going to keep an eye on you every single day, make sure you're eating right and you're having nice hot bubble baths and you're laughing and enjoying your life again Ginny Weasley."

Oliver had been listening in to the tail end of their conversation and he slipped his arm around her shoulder, squeezing it gently. He whispered in her ear before kissing her cheek, "You are an amazing woman." Hermione blushed and settled into her chair again, ready to start on desert. Harry and Draco were busy clearing away the plates and dishes from the mains, but Draco knew to leave the bowl of prawn crackers close to Hermione. Meanwhile Gabrielle was casting a fire in the middle of the table, so that the group could make smores. Draco brought over a mixing bowl full of marshmallows, and Harry brought over the chocolate and biscuits.

It was almost 11.30 by the time the group had finished gorging themselves on smores, Hermione ate twice what anyone else did and Oliver had a proud smile plastered on his face. She could barely move by the time she was done, so Oliver picked her up and put her on the couch, before he helped Gabrielle and Ron clear the table and then pour champagne or non-alcoholic champagne into glasses ready for calling in the New Year. At 11.45 they were all sat on the sofa's with a glass in hand or nearby on the coffee table. Hermione felt the need to speak, "So for the last two years, me Harry and Ron have tried to hide away from the New Year celebrations, Ron was usually drunk, I was usually working and Harry tried to get to sleep before the fireworks came. A lot can change in a year, and now I am surrounded by my family, my fiancé, and our little thing in my belly. I hope that this year, brings all of us happiness and a brighter future." All of the people around her grinned and they clinked glasses, shouting 'to a better future'.

"Why don't we all say what we're going to leave in the last century, as we welcome 2000!" Ginny called, looking to Gabrielle to start off.

She smiled, "I'm leaving my shitty healers quarters, screw the debt!"

Ron spoke next, "I'm leaving the alcohol, I don't need that anymore." Everyone looked on him with pride, Hermione was amazed she'd seen this day.

Ginny looked up, "I'm leaving PTSD in that century, I'm going to beat this."

"I'm leaving my nightmares behind, I don't care what I have to do, but I'm not bringing them with me anymore." Harry grinned and Draco kissed his cheek.

"I'm leaving my commitment issues behind, I've got my perfect family now and I'm not pushing them away."

Oliver looked up, "I'm not going to let people push me around anymore, I'm going to apply for captaincy at the start of the season, and I'm going to bloody get it." There were hollers and cheers to this, and Hermione kissed his lips. "Go get em." She whispered.

"Well, I'm going to leave my fake mothering of you boys and become a real Mum. I think it's time that I let Ron and Harry grow up and deal with themselves in the real world." She grinned with that twinkle in her eye and the group laughed, she saw the clock, one minute to midnight. Then 30 seconds. Then ten.

They chorused, "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE!" They got up and hugged each other, kissed their partners and took sips of champagne, alcoholic or not.

* * *

It was a slow wake up the next morning for everyone but Ron and Gabrielle. At 9 am, when Draco came down with Scorpius to get him some breakfast and find something to heal his hangover, Ron and Gabrielle were just leaving for the slopes.

"Hey! Gabrielle! You don't know anything that can heal hangovers do you? I'm really struggling here and the bright gleam of the snow isn't helping much." Scorpius giggled and squealed, picking up his porridge and trying to throw it at his papa. His papa raised one eyebrow and gave him a look which forced Scorpius to put the porridge down.

"Of course, in my wash kit in the bathroom there's a few vial's of purple gloopy liquid, mix it in with your porridge and you should feel right as rain. I only have three vial's left though, so don't go telling the others." She winked and grinned as Ron pulled her away, down to the boot room.

Finally, by 10.30, everyone was sat around the table, milling over what they were going to do. Hermione and Oliver were going to go skiing after lunch, Harry was going to go for a solo board - he needed a bit of alone time after the nightmare he'd had. Draco was going to take Scorpius to the snow park and play around, maybe convince him to try out some skis, but nothing too strenuous. Which left Ginny at a loss, she didn't really want to ski, and she had had an appointment schedule come through via owl for her pysch appointments so she decided to leave early. Gabrielle had to head home at the end of the day too, she had to get back to St. Mungo's, so that left Ron, Harry, Draco, Hermione, Oliver and Scorpius. Ginny didn't feel too bad about leaving but did write out a note to explain that she'd gone home, not gone gone.

The sun was setting when Oliver and Hermione finally got back into the chalet, Harry and Draco were entertaining Scorpius, and Ron was making sure Gabrielle had everything. He'd taken her out for a late lunch/early dinner, as kind of a first date - it had gone well, and just before she jumped into the Floo she kissed him on the lips. Ron stood in shock, and didn't get a chance to reciprocate before she was gone.

He turned to the two men on the floor, "Did she?"

Draco smiled and nodded, "She did."

He touched his lips briefly, a faint smudge of red lipstick had been left behind. "Merlin.." He was the best at minding his language around Scorpius, even Draco had been known to utter a few 'shits' or 'fucks' every once in a while. Especially when coffee was spilt over important documents, and the like. Oliver walked into the main room and high five Ron, "Way to go mate, she's totally out of your league."

Ron feigned a hurt impression and went to get himself some tea, "Do I tell mum? No. Too soon? Hermione?"

"Well Ronald, make sure you tell her. At some point. Unlike my bozo who neglected to mention to his parents that I'm pregnant." She whacked her fiancé on the arm and he groaned, "I said I'm sorry."

"I know. I'm just going to string this out a bit longer." She grinned a wicked smile and took over from Ron, making two cups of tea and grabbing some biscuits.

"Where's Shelly?" Oliver said, going through the pantry to her annex.

"She's out buying ingredients, she wanted to make me a dish that could calm my stomach."

"That's kind of her."

"We had a good chat about it at the market earlier, you know when you went to chat to the guy at the ski shop."

"Oh yeah. Hey, did she buy any of that brie?"

"Top shelf of the fridge, and she bought your favourite crackers too - the ones with the poppy seed and roasted sesame. They're in the pantry, in a blue tupperware box."

Oliver grinned like a kid at Christmas and got the cheese and crackers, but Hermione grabbed the cheese knife before he could. "Not too much, we are eating soon."

He rolled his eyes, "Alright Mum." he teased gently.

Harry and Draco had been watching them both, and they smiled to each other. "They're going to be such amazing parents, you can see it now." Harry said quietly, stroking Scorpius' back.

"Their child will want for nothing, and will be unconditionally loved. Plus it will have a stellar education, courtesy of my new initiative." Draco beamed proudly and Harry kissed his lips, "But that's the last you say on the matter, no more work."

Scorpius nodded too, "Papa - no more work!" He mimicked Harry and Draco smiled, agreeing with him in French. "Ne plus pas de travail."

"What is this obsession with you teaching him french too? Scorp hasn't even got to a beginners level in English."

"It's important to teach languages young Harry. Children become less and less like sponges the older they get, by 5 I knew 3 languages. I expect Scorpius to be the same, they're not high expectations if you incorporate it into their day to day life."

Draco tested his theory as an owl flew past the chalet, "Scorpius, what just flew past? In French, mon petit fils."

Scorpius thought for a short while then declared, "Chouette!"


	23. Chapter 23

It had been a few weeks since New Year, and Harry had been up at Hogwarts for most of that, their DADA teacher had had an accident involving a turkey over Christmas and wouldn't be back for a few weeks, so Harry had taken residence at Neville and Luna's. It meant he had a lot of free time to wander Hogsmeade and meet up with people he hadn't seen since the war. This was a blessing and a curse, sometimes people had changed for the worse, or in the case of Hagrid, sometimes people hadn't changed at all. He still couldn't cook, but he'd got better at teaching and looking after the first years. For the first time in all of his 'career' there hadn't been a first year to fall into the lake when they were journeying to the castle.

With Harry being away the house was very quiet, Hermione was working very late hours, much to the annoyance of Oliver, and Ron was studying. Whilst he was on his date with Gabrielle he realised he hadn't got any goals in life, he just got up one day, milled around, walked Whiskey, and went back to sleep in the evening. So with his friends help he decided to set a career goal, and they all came to the same conclusion that he should become an auror. He needed four NEWTs to become an auror, and he never went back to school to get them, so he was independently studying for them and would take them in April. He'd spoken to the Head of the Auror department and he seemed more than happy to take Ron on now, but Ron decided that it wouldn't be right for him to get the job just because of what he'd done in the war. He wanted the job on his own merit, so he was working hard to pass his NEWTs and then he would reapply for an Auror job.

Oliver was training harder than ever to prove to the team that he would make an excellent captain, and he already knew he would from the work he put in when he was captain of Gryffindor - sure, it was a bit different but overall it was still Quidditch, it was still a load of people flying around chasing after strangely shaped balls.

* * *

Ron took a seat in the coffee shop by St. Mungos, it was a wizarding coffee place and he never managed to go in without bumping into people he knew but it was the closest place for Gabrielle to get to on her lunch break. He'd ordered her a chai latte and a ham and cheese panini, and he'd gotten a green tea and bacon panini. They were just delivered to their table when she walked in, wearing her scrubs with her hair tied back off her face. Most of the healers who worked in the wards had ditched the uncomfortable long skirts, white shirts and aprons for the more practical muggle dress of scrubs. However if they were in consultations or meetings they had to wear the formal uniform. She let her hair down as she walked over to Ron and took her thick ski parka off, "Merlin, it's freezing out there." She spied the chai latte and grinned, "Chai? Double caramel shot? Soya milk?" He checked them all of on his hand and she sat down, taking a long sip of the latte.

"You're a legend, Ronald." Gabrielle said, her french accent was slipping the more she lived and worked in London, yet when she was around Fleur it had never been so strong.

"I know." He winked at her and took a bite of his panini, "So how was work?"

"Mmm. It was good. I have my interview for a full time position (once I've graduated) next week."

"Nervous?"

"Shitting it." She giggled, using a phrase that Draco and Ron were both accustomed to. But at that moment the Daily Prophet's all landed in their stands in the middle of the shop. And Ron saw Harry's face on the front page.

"Sorry.. One minute." He got up and walked over to the stand, hoping no one else had noticed, he grabbed one of the papers and returned to their table. They both quickly read the article and Gabrielle gasped, "Harry and Draco? Engaged?" She whispered.

"I don't think so. He's not mentioned anything to me about it. I think it's just gossip.."

"He is looking at engagement rings though."

"He could just be looking tho, Gabs. Harry's up in Hogsmeade and I know he's bored out of his mind, he doesn't have to mark anything, he just teaches the DADA classes, so when he gets back to Neville and Luna's he hasn't got anything to do."

"You could owl him? And find out for yourself?" She finished her chai latte and checked on the time: she still had 10 minutes until she'd need to go back to the hospital.

"I doubt he's even seen the paper so I don't want to bother him."

Realisation dawned on their faces at once, "But Draco will have seen the paper." Ron mumbled, getting up. "Think I should go to the Ministry? Put out the fire that is sure to be Draco right now?"

She nodded, getting up as well. "I think that's a good plan. Oh, and can you drop this off at Hermione's office? It's a prescription she asked me to pick up for her."

* * *

Ron was walking down the hallway to the Ministry and decided to go to Hermione's office first, he walked through her newly renovated office space and nodded his head, _impressive._ Almost made him want to work there, but then he remembered Hermione would be his boss and he retracted his mental statement. **Knock, Knock.** Hermione opened up her door and grinned when she saw Ron standing there, with the prescription bag in hand. "Well don't just stand there Ronald, are you coming in?"

"Yeah but it's quick, I've got to go see if Draco is alright."

"Why? Has something happened?" Hermione said as she sat back down at her desk, and gestured for Ron to take a seat in one of the two grey upholstered wing back chairs that sat opposite her.

"There's been an article published in the Prophet, Harry was caught looking at engagement rings in Hogsmeade."

"Skeeter?"

He nodded grimly, "She's made the whole thing up, but somehow she's found out about Scorpius and she's name dropped him. Draco's going to be gutted - he did so well to keep Scorp out of the media."

"For Merlins sake, can't they just leave us be. Harry has been through enough."

Ron sighed and relaxed into the chair, "I'm praying that they never find out about Ginny and her psych treatment, she's doing so well with Turbs but it would break her if people knew about it. If Mum knew about it."

"Has she still not told your mum?"

"Nope. And she's not planning on." He looked at the clock on the wall and got up, "I'd better go find Draco, I'll see you later yeah? Fancy anything for tea?"

"Muggle pizza. That take away place, Dominos!" She grinned when she remembered the name - her brain had gone to mush.

"BBQ sauce with cheese and chicken strips?"

"Pleease! I'm going to try and get home for 7, but I'll owl you if it's any later."

He was just leaving when he said, "What will Wood want?"

Hermione's face fell immediately, "Um, he's at international grounds, training. He won't be back for about a week." She sighed and he let her get on with her work.

* * *

 **Knock, knock, knock.**

Draco's personal assistant was sat at her desk, "And you're sure he's in?" Ron said, annoyed at how useless she seemed to be. The girl nodded and carried on clicking her heels on the floor. "Should I just go in..?"

He got no reply, so he pushed the door open and she immediately spoke, "Sir I wouldn't do that!" But she was too late he was already in the room, where Draco was sat on the grey couch against the wall with a tumbler of whiskey in hand. "Draco.." Ron looked at him sadly, and took the glass from his hand.

"You've seen the article."

He pulled up a chair and sat in front of Draco, he'd really grown to like the guy, and he made Harry happy - so that was that really. Draco nodded, wringing his hands out.

"He's probably just looking. I know he's not going to propose, he'd tell me."

"I'm not there yet."

"And he knows that. You two are such a good couple and he wouldn't want to break that up."

"I mean we don't even live together. And I know that Scorpius likes him but there's so much more of my life than that."

"Don't over think this. Harry is a part of your life now."

"I haven't even managed to speak to him this week. We've both been so busy with work."

"Draco. Stop. He's not going to propose. Can you get up to Hogsmeade tonight?"

"I couldn't bring Scorp, but I could go. I haven't got a meeting until 1 pm tomorrow."

"Hermione and me will have Scorpius. And Gabrielle might come over too."

"Are you sure?"

"I don't want you two to break up, so I'm sure as hell."

Draco looked at the man with gratitude, he never thought they'd be friends like this, but then he never thought he'd be dating Harry fucking Potter. He never thought he'd be in love with him. Because if he was honest with himself he was in love with Harry, and he had been for a long time. He just really couldn't face getting married again, not this soon.

"I'll gather myself, pack Scorpius up, owl his nursery and inform them that you will be picking him up."

"Great. Can I just ask, also?"

"Shoot." He said, putting his things into his briefcase.

"Your assistant. Does she hate everyone?"

"She recently broke up with a ginger."

Ron laughed and walked out of the office.

* * *

Draco decided to Floo to Hogsmeade, the train, as much as he loved it, was too long. He had sent a bag up to Neville and Luna's and jumped into the floo, Ron and Hermione were in the living room of Draco's house, looking for something that Scorpius was asking for. There was a knock at the door, Ron turned to Hermione. "Do we get it? Is that weird?"

Hermione shrugged and Ron went to the door and opened it up, Harry was stood on the door step.

"Bollocks." Ron muttered.


	24. Chapter 24

To give some reference to something later in this chapter, Hermione chooses a wedding dress that is basically a white/blush/soft blue version of the dress she wears for the premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.

I'd also like to make an apology for not posting as frequently, but I've been getting a few bad reviews and it doesn't really inspire you to write more ! :(

* * *

Harry was stood on the doorstep, waiting for Ron to come back with Hermione. "Shit." She said as soon as she saw him, Harry raised an eyebrow, "Bollocks and shit? You guys are normally happier to see me."

"Uh yeah sorry mate." Ron mumbled, himself and Hermione looking between themselves, unsure of what to say or do.

"Why are you two in Draco's house? You know we live next door right." Harry jokingly pointed to their front door, then slipped his hands back into the pockets of his overcoat.

"We're babysitting." Once again their eyes flicked between each other, nerves and anticipation were almost palpable in the air. "Scorpius."

"Where's Draco?"

"Probably Hogsmeade by now." Ron said, awaiting Harry's reaction.

"Why?"

"To see you.." Hermione said, trying to give Harry a clue, "You know.. the prophet.. the engagement ring.. none of this ringing a bell Harry?"

"Neville and Luna don't read it. Why? What's happened?" And then it dawned on him, the other day he was just wandering around the shops and then it started to rain so he dived into the nearest shop - it happened to be a jewellers. So he started to look around, and as it's coming up for Valentines Day so there were a lot engagement rings in the shop - he couldn't really look at anything else because there wasn't anything else, and then he had heard the quick click and flash. Harry had dismissed it at the time but that must've been Skeeter.

"Bollocks." Harry muttered, he was angry that yet again the fucking Skeeter had invaded his privacy and his relationship, "Where did you say Draco's gone?"

"Hogsmeade." They both said at once, and Harry quickly apparated to The Three Broomsticks, where he could make his way up to Neville and Luna's.

* * *

"So you're saying that Harry is in London?" Draco said, standing in the living room of Neville and Luna's house: Luna, heavily pregnant was sat in one of the tall backed arm chairs, and Neville was sat marking papers at the table.

"He left about an hour ago." Luna stated, "Would you like some tea?" She smiled kindly, wearing a patchwork purple and green dress that was the only thing she managed to get over her large belly, there was a pair of glasses sat on her head buried in her messy bun.

Draco shook his head politely, just as the bell that sounded when someone entered the house rang - like an old muggle shop. "Nev, would you go see who that is?"

He got up, holding a quill and a students paper and walked down the hallway to the front door where Harry was stood taking his coat off, he'd passed through a storm when apparating. "Please say Draco's here." Neville laughed, "I never thought I'd here you say that. Right. Sorry. Yeah, he's in the lounge." Harry had given him a pointed look which caused Neville to remember that Draco had changed and he wasn't the same bastard he was at school.

"Draco. I haven't seen the article, I don't know what it says but I don't want to marry you." He said it so fast that Neville and Luna couldn't keep up but Draco grinned, "You don't know how happy that makes me."

"Sometime, a long time, in the future. Maybe. But not right now. I wasn't buying you an engagement ring, it was raining and I hadn't got my cloak and-"

"It's ok! I understand. I just freaked out. We haven't been able to talk a lot lately and I got into my head a bit and then Ron came and found me and he set me straight so I came up here but then you'd gone back to London."

"We can go back to London if its easier for you."

"No it's okay, you have classes tomorrow morning right?"

"Yeah but that doesn't matter, I can apparate."

"You apparated in this weather? Harry are you an idiot?"

"No - I needed to get here quickly so I wouldn't lose you again."

Draco smiled and wrapped his arms around Harry in a tight hug, they were in their own little bubble, like no one else existed or mattered. Until Neville sneezed.

"Uh, sorry guys." Harry said sheepishly, a dark blush on his face. It wasn't like he felt uncomfortable around his friends, but PDA had never been his thing, not even at school when most people were all over each other in the common rooms by 5th or 6th year.

* * *

Hermione and Fleur were meeting Mrs Wood and Mrs Weasley at Wood manor at 11 o'clock. Ginny had an appointment at St. Mungos but would be there as soon as she could; they were going to start the planning for Hermione and Oliver's wedding. Unfortunately the reception wouldn't be a quiet affair, Kingsley had sent over a list of people that she 'ought' to invite, the list contained 100 names - ten of which Hermione knew, and five of which Oliver knew. Sure, Hermione had been in department meetings with them, or she'd been to balls or banquets or celebrations with them, but they'd never stepped over the small talk line, and Hermione would definitely say they weren't close enough to be part of the wedding invitations list. But that was just part of being the golden trio, shit happens.

Hermione was wearing tight denim jeans and little black pumps, a white cotton shirt with a thick oversized jumper over the top and an oversized scarf in the Wood family tartan. Fleur had dressed similarly, and for the first time since Hermione had met her, she wasn't wearing make up. However, due to the Veela in her bloodline, Fleur looked even better without make up - which came to no surprise to Hermione at all. She knocked on the front door of the manor, and as soon as she spoke their names it swung open and shut again as they made their way into the hall. The house elf, Albert, showed them to the grand room which had been transformed into 'wedding HQ' as Mrs Wood and Weasley had nicknamed it, they were both putting their hearts and souls into this wedding. More so than Hermione, really.

"Girls!" Mrs Weasley called, hugging them both happily. Mrs Wood gave Hermione a hug too and then got introduced to Fleur, "You are Bill's wife, right?" She spoke in French to Fleur, to the surprise of the tall, blonde woman. "Oui, maintenant deux annes." Fleur replied, before they all sat at the large oak table.

"Would you like some tea, Hermione, Fleur?" Mrs Wood stood from her seat and picked up the ornate teapot, pouring loose leaved tea into both cups. She called for Albert to bring some more milk, he bowed and walked away to the kitchens.

"Now, Madam Malkin has designed some wedding dresses, I think there are 10 in total, they're much more muggle than usual wizarding gowns, and we picked up three from Vera Wang too. That's who you said right?" Mrs Weasley said, glancing over at the rack of wedding dresses.

Hermione nodded, grinning. "Should we start?"

"Yes! Albert has been whipping up different cakes all morning so he said we'll be able to try those after one. So we have about two hours to try on all these dresses."

So it began, Hermione tried on the Madam Malkin dresses first, and as lovely as they were, she really wanted a muggle wedding dress. She'd dreamed about her wedding dress when she was a little girl, walking past Vera Wang's shop front and hoping that she could wear one of those one day. Mrs Weasley loved every single Madam Malkin dress, in every variety: fishtail, mermaid, ball gown, prom style, short, long, sweetheart neckline, long sleeves, tight to the ankle, lace, chiffon, tulle, off the shoulder, on one shoulder, strapless, both straps. Mrs Wood was a little fussier, and Fleur had yet to see 'the dress'.

Until Hermione tried the last Vera Wang dress on, it had an off white strapless bodice with long lace sleeves covered in intricate stitched detailing, amongst the stitch detailing there were tiny little sequins which caught the sunlight. And from the waist down there was a full ball gown skirt made from tulle of varying colours, all soft greys and blue tones, a few blush twists too. It had a birds nest effect yet made Hermione look elegant, and would hide some baby weight if she was still carrying any. It was a little long for her but she wasn't wearing heels, so Fleur accio'd a pair and helped Hermione slip them on, then she twisted her hair up into an elegant side bun and nestled a veil into the back of her hair. Hermione had decided not to wear a veil over her face but she quite liked it at the back. When she stood on the platform and looked at herself in the floor length mirror she was in shock, her scars were hidden, she looked elegant, beautiful. She nodded quickly, holding back the tears. "This is it."

Fleur nodded in appreciation, "You're right. This iz it. Without doubt."

As soon as Hermione was out of the dress she rang Vera Wang's office on her muggle phone, and confirmed that she would be buying it and that she would make sure the other two dresses were returned to her studio as soon as possible.

"Madam Malkin won't be offended will she?" Hermione said as they sat at the table, ready to start on the organising.

"Oh no dear, she's a very sensible woman. She'll just be happy that you've found your perfect dress." Mrs Weasley said, and then she rubbed Hermione's arm in an attempt to take away some of the guilt that Hermione was feeling.

"So, who are you having as your bridesmaids?" Mrs Wood asked, her quill in hand and paper on the desk.

"I'm having Fleur as my maid of honour," to which Fleur smirked, she loved that little bit of extra power, "Ginny, Gabrielle and Luna as my bridesmaids, if they all want to of course."

"What do you think they should wear?"

"Muggle dresses. None of the wedding party, apart from traditional wizards and witches like yourselves," she gestured to Mrs Wood and Mrs Weasley, "Will be wearing robes. Oliver and me have spoken about it and it's just not for us."

Mrs Wood nodded, "Oh of course, I understand. Many modern witches and wizards prefer muggle fashion as it is practical and ever changing, robes seem to be the same style year in year out."

Just before the group of women could get into a discussion about robes and muggle wear, Albert walked in pushing a tea service with dishes of cake, all neatly arranged with labels. After a long while of to'ing and fro'ing between cake, Hermione chose a chocolate and orange sponge with three tiers and fondant Quidditch hoops on the top tier, as well as a little bride and groom sat on the second tier with their legs dangling off the side. It was slightly comical and very personal to them, which was the most important thing to Hermione.

Mrs Wood stood up with her quill and ticked things off of the list, they still had a way to go but Ginny had now arrived to help too. She laughed when she found out that she had arrived for the worst bit of wedding planning: the seating arrangements.

"How was your appointment?" Hermione said when she took Ginny with her to go get some more water and tea.

"It was fine, we still get on well. I'm just not really making much progress."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, she had a feeling that the lack of progress was down to Ginny holding back information, not Healer Turbs' lack of expertise. "Why do you think that is, Gin?"

"He's pushing me for information I don't want to give him yet."

"What sort of information?" Hermione smiled softly, leaning against the kitchen counter, rubbing her stomach.

She shrugged, and Hermione decided to push her. She knew it probably wasn't fair, but Ginny wasn't going to say anything and it would be worse for her if she went back into her shell.

"Ginny, you don't have to tell me but you're not going to get better. Are you?"

She shook her head, "No.." Ginny mumbled, looking up at Hermione. "He asks about my dreams, about what happened to me in the war, about Fred. I can't go there yet. I haven't been to his grave.. If I go to his grave then it's real, you know? He's really gone, he's not coming back. I see him in my dreams, he talks to me, calms me down, he'll walk into my nightmares and pick me up and take me somewhere, it's like he's my guardian angel and I'm scared that if I go to his grave, he's going to stop. It'll be like I've accepted his death and I haven't."

Hermione had tears in her eyes when she listened to Ginny, she desperately needed to grieve and move on, try and live a normal life again but she couldn't. Ginny was too stuck, so Hermione wrapped her arms around Ginny and held her until she calmed down.

"Want me to come to your next session? I can push you, and maybe you won't feel so scared to tell him."

She nodded, "Okay. I'll tell him what I've told you."


	25. Chapter 25

It was coming to the end of January, and it was cold. Bitterly cold. The snow had settled into banks and rooftops, but had stopped falling quite so heavily. However Oliver and Puddlemere couldn't return to their grounds so were still training abroad - it had been two weeks. Or 17 days. Hermione was counting. And she never thought she'd be like this, she never thought she'd rely on someone else so much, it had always been just her. She hadn't needed anyone else, she got by on her own, and she managed to cope, heck, she didn't cope, she smashed it. Youngest head of department that the Ministry had ever had, one of the wisest witches of her age, constantly developing new potions and new laws or schemes for the modern wizarding world. But then Oliver Wood came along and he swept her off her feet, he made her laugh and cry and she was even having a baby with him. On this occasion, on the cold January evening, where the sun had set hours ago and no one was home, Oliver Wood was making her cry. Harry was next door with Draco and Scorpius, Ginny was with friends in Devon, Ron and Gabrielle had gone for a meal, or a date, or whatever.

And Hermione was at home, curled up in her bed, with Whiskey at the end of her bed, and she felt sorry for herself. She never felt sorry for herself. "Get yourself together Granger." She mumbled, to which Whiskey barked and licked her face. She giggled and sat up straight, looking at the dog. "You're a good girl, aren't you Whiskey?" The grey-ginger dog went to lick Hermione again and she smiled, shaking her head. Hermione had a hand on her stomach, rubbing the bump gently, so Whiskey lay a paw on her stomach and looked Hermione in the eyes.

"He's going to be such a good Dad to this little one." Whiskey whined and snuggled up close to Hermione's stomach, an ear laying on her stomach. "I just really want him to be here, to come home. I swear, I wasn't like this before. I didn't need anyone." She wrapped a blanket around Whiskey, whose breathing had levelled out and had started snoring. It was 11.30 pm. "That's not a bad idea, Whiskey.. Guess I should get some sleep too."

* * *

"HARREE! HARREE! PAPA!" Scorpius' relentless cries woke both of the men, Draco rolled over and smirked in his sleepy state.

"He said your name first."

Harry rolled his eyes, about to say 'he's your son' but that wouldn't be fair. Harry loved him like a son, and would adopt him if he and Draco ever got married. "Fine. But that rule is shit, Harry comes first in the alphabet, H before P, so maybe Scorpius is just really clever."

"He's two." Draco said bluntly, well aware that toddlers could be clever, but not that clever. He rolled back over, dragging all of the covers with him as Harry got up out of bed, grabbed a shirt and pulled it on as he walked down the corridor to Scorpius' room.

"What's up little guy?"

Scorpius had clearly been crying, so when Harry scooped him up out of his crib he wiped away the tears on his cheeks.

"Bad dream." He mumbled, sniffling. Harry sat down in the armchair in the corner of Scorp's room and held the mini Draco in his lap, tucking a strand of stray blonde hair behind his ear.

"No! What about?" Harry put on a shocked face, joking around. He managed to earn a little giggle, _one point to the grown ups,_ Harry thought.

"Big monsters…"

He reached for a dinosaur book that he knew Draco had read to him the night before, "Did they look like this..?"

Scorpius hid away, nodding again. "Well, I've got an idea. Why don't we go to a big museum tomorrow so you can see dinosaurs, and you can see that they're not scary and in fact they're very friendly. Does that sound good?"

"Maybe."

Harry bit his lip and denied the temptation to roll his eyes, "Let's get you back to bed, all snuggled up with Drarry the dragon."

* * *

The morning finally rolled around and Draco was happily dozing, when he got woken up by Scorpius. "Uhh. Hi buddy! You can come up here."

He grinned and pulled himself up onto the bed, Harry was no where to be seen in the bedroom and he couldn't hear the shower running so Draco presumed he was downstairs. "Did Harry help you out of your crib?"

"I climbed out." He had a mischievous little smirk on his face, one that Draco's mother had probably seen on Draco a few times in his younger years.

"Well well well.. We'll have to get a bigger bed for you, won't we little man?"

Scorpius nodded eagerly and Draco smiled at how far he had come in a few months, now he was climbing out of his crib, using more and more vocabulary and translating simple french words. _He is your son after all_ , his subconscious happily commented.

Just then Harry walked in, a towel wrapped around his waist, with wet hair framing his face, he had his glasses on, yet didn't see Scorpius sat in the bed. He was about to drop his towel when Draco spoke up, "Scorpius, what would you like for breakfast?" he said pointedly, making Harry very aware of who else was in the room. Harry blushed and quickly ran to the en-suite to get dressed.

"How come you didn't use the shower in the en-suite, babe?" Draco called out, whilst Scorpius was looking through a picture book.

"I didn't want to wake you, you looked so peaceful in your sleep. Those worry lines of yours just disappear." Harry was towelling off his hair in the bedroom, and leant over to kiss Draco's forehead. "Besides, the showers aren't much different."

"Ah but I could've joined you if I'd known." Draco winked causing Harry to smirk, and reply quickly, "Ah but the small issue of a toddler would prevent such things."

"Alas." Draco smiled and got out of bed, pulling on grey sweats and his old slytherin jersey, bare feet. "Scorp, let's go get some breakfast. Is Drarry coming too?"

"Of course Papa! He wants eggs too!"

"He would like eggs too." Draco corrected Scorp, picking him up and swinging him up onto his back smoothly - a well rehearsed action of a single parent in a townhouse with four flights of stairs, when they had time they negotiated the staircase, but it was just easier for Draco to carry Scorpius.

"Harry said we could go to a big museum with dinosaurs!" Scorpius had to carefully pronounce 'museum' and 'dinosaur' but Draco knew what he was saying.

"When did he say this, Scorp?"

"Last night." Harry said as he walked into the kitchen where the two of them were making breakfast. Scorpius nodded his approval, Draco raised an eyebrow. "I'll explain later. But Scorpius you are right, I said we could go to the big museum that has the dinosaurs. Maybe we could see if Papa is free today?"

"I believe I am, anything for my two favourite boys." Draco kissed Scorpius on the head then kissed Harry's lips.

"Sounds like we've got ourselves a plan, Scorp!" Harry said, grinning.

Scorpius had finally munched himself through a bowl of cereal, Draco was constantly saying that he had the appetite of someone twice his size, but Gabrielle had persuaded him that it was perfectly normal for a boy his age - it was much better to have a child that would eat whatever he was given instead of being extremely fussy. "You can go play in the lounge, Scorpius."

Harry helped Scorpius down from his chair, and he ran off into the lounge; where Draco and Harry were sitting, at the breakfast bar, they had a perfect view of Scorpius through the open plan living area, but it gave Scorpius a feel of independence, which Draco felt was vital for a child.

"He had a nightmare about dinosaurs, you know because you were reading that book to him last night?" Harry sipped his coffee, and glanced across the kitchen, looking for a cloth to clear up Scorpius' mess.

"He's been fine every other time I've read that book to him, it was Astoria's. She was fascinated by dinosaurs and that era."

Harry shrugged, clearing up the mess. "I guess he doesn't like it anymore."

"Do you think, because Scorp has never had his mum's affection, that he'll be bothered by it in the future?"

"I don't know. You're an amazing dad to him though, you needn't worry." He planted a kiss on his forehead, Draco smiled up at his boyfriend.

"Thanks. I try my best." Draco had a slight blush to him, and responded modestly. A lot had changed, really. When he was at Hogwarts, aside from having a few gay tendencies, nothing was much different in his life, not much different to the path that his father had laid out for him. He was going to marry a beautiful girl, have children, raise an empire with a good business, add to the family estate. Then the war happened, he was asked to choose sides and he realised he didn't want to add to the Malfoy wealth if it meant he got his money from hurting others, it wasn't who he was, not deep down.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Harry smiled at him, he looked perfectly at home in Draco's kitchen, wearing checked pyjama bottoms and a loose grey shirt, thick knitted cardigan over the top, a bit of stubble peeking through, his hair a way ward mess - but then when was it not a way ward mess?

"Just thinking about how I acted at Hogwarts, versus how I am now." He said, still stuck in his thoughts, not really paying attention to the conversation he was having.

"You shouldn't dwell on that. You were a different person then, and I love you now, the real you." Harry was stood behind him, his arms wrapped around his chest.

"I've never heard you say that." He whispered shyly, looking up at Harry.

"Well, Draco Lucius Malfoy, I love you." It was a tender, forgiving, heart felt moment that would have felt wrong anywhere but here, at home.

"I love you too, Harry James Potter." They kissed briefly before a manic two year old ran into the kitchen with one of his toy dragons, pretending he was flying with it. They broke the kiss, laughing, and cheered Scorp and his dragon on.

"Hey, Scorp, let's get you ready to go to the museum, yeah?" Draco scooped up his son and and the dragon and ran down the corridor with it, pretending they were flying together.

(( LINE BREAK ))

They were both holding a hand of Scorpius', swinging him along the pavement, Draco was dressed casually, in black jeans and a crisp white shirt, unbuttoned at the neck, with a thick grey overcoat on top - plus Scorpius' blue and green rucksack slung over one shoulder. Harry was actually dressed casually in a button down t-shirt, grey jeans and a denim jacket with fur on the inside. It was a bright winter's day, the intense sunlight melting the snow, but not increasing the temperature to above 5 degrees celsius. Scorpius kept complaining about the temperature, asking why they couldn't Floo to the museum. "Well, Scorp, it's a muggle museum, so we have to pretend we're muggles, and muggles walk or drive places. But the museum isn't very far, so we're walking today." Harry said, answering his questions.

Draco laughed, wishing he could put his head in his hands, this is why Scorpius would not be able to go to a muggle primary school - they'd probably think he was mad and send him away. "Look ahead Scorp, there it is!" Draco grinned, pointing to the large archaic building that is the Natural History Museum of London. They got themselves through the turnstiles, and then Scorpius ran right past reception to Dippy the dinosaur who was taking up most of the space in the grand hall. The little boy stood in amazement, unable to really see the sheer size of the skeleton. As they wandered through the museum and looked at the various exhibitions, skeletons, fossils, Scorpius became at ease with the dinosaurs, and seemed convinced that they weren't scary at all.

"It worked." Draco said to Harry, as Scorpius was sat watching a short film about how dinosaurs came to the Earth. Most of the other children in the room were seven and up, but this didn't seem to bother Scorp.

"I thought it would. He's extremely intelligent you know. For a two year old."

Draco smirked, "I know. He is my son after all," He winked and Harry laughed, "He's going to be three next month."

"Oh, when is his birthday?" Harry watched Scorpius, and the other parents watched Harry and Draco. He swore a few women were talking about them.

"End of February, 25th."

"We should throw him a party!" Harry grinned, Draco rolled his eyes.

"Fine. I'll leave it with you."

"Great." Harry had already started thinking of themes, but he was going to have to talk to Hermione about decorations and the like. "Oh! Hermione got her wedding dress, by the way."

"Have they set a date?!"

Harry laughed, "No, Hermione didn't want to be walking down the aisle with a bump on her. But she's always dreamt of having a Vera Wang, ever since she was a little girl, so Fleur managed to pull a few strings - but it takes a while for the dresses to be altered etc, and Vera Wang is very busy. They're thinking about having a winter wedding though, because Hermione will have had the baby by then."

"That would be pretty. Last time we spoke she'd just received the list of people she 'ought' to invite."

"Our wedding will be like that you know."

Draco blanched, but Harry hadn't seen. "Mhm, lucky us.

The film had ended and Scorpius came walking out, "Dippy! I want to see Dippy again!" He grinned, even though he looked tired.

"You would like to go see Dippy again." Draco corrected, intent on Scorpius' manors being exceptional.

"I would like to go see Dippy again." Scorpius said slowly, with a twinkle in his eye. He had his papa wrapped around his little finger, and Merlin didn't he know it.


	26. Chapter 26

Oliver was finally home from training, they had 4 days off and then he would be going to Bulgaria to help coach the U18's quidditch team in the Eastern European Wizarding Championships, or the EEWC's. He dropped his stuff home and had a shower before going over to Hermione's, she didn't even know when he was coming home, her and Harry were sat in the kitchen drinking tea, trying to decide on decorations for Scorpius' birthday party. There were also pots and pans on the stove, magically cooking, for the dinner party they were holding that evening - Neville and Luna were coming down for the weekend so Harry, herself and Ron thought they'd hold a little party to celebrate Ron completing his NEWTs - finally.

 **Knock, Knock, Knock, Knock.**

Hermione looked to Harry, and raised an eyebrow, "Only Oliver knocks like that."

"Of course you'd know how Oliver knocks, woman, you're obsessed."

She scowled at Harry, getting up and rubbing her belly ( which was visible through Oliver's old Gryffindor quidditch jersey) , she opened up the front door, and looked up. "Oliver?!"

He grinned and wrapped his arms around her, picking her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and smiled, the sort of smile that is just stuck there, there's no way you can get rid of it, and you wouldn't want to. "Hey, fiancee." He said cooly, before he kissed her lips.

Hermione broke away breathlessly, her back up against the hallway wall, the front door still wide open. "Harry's home." She murmured, disappointed.

Oliver shrugged, "Isn't that what silencing charms are for?" He kicked the front door shut and moved Hermione so she was over his shoulder, running upstairs with her squealing.

* * *

Ron walked through the front door, and into the kitchen, expecting to see Hermione stressing over pans of something or other - it was usually how the kitchen was when they had people round for dinner, and she insisted on cooking, even though they could happily go out for dinner.

"Hey mate." Ron said to Harry, flicking the kettle on.

"Hey, did you go see the Aurors then?"

Ron grinned, taking a piece of paper from his back pocket. "I start Monday."

"Way to go! I'm proud of you." Harry jumped up and hugged Ron, both of them then looked at the piece of paper with all of the details for Ron's new job, on it. "You've not told Gabrielle yet have you?"

"No. I'm going to tell her before everyone else arrives, I think she'll be happy for me. Just nervous." Ron looked apprehensive to even have a conversation with her, but Harry was going to happily leave him to it. "Also, where's Hermione..?" He quickly looked around the kitchen, and through the big glass doors into the garden, but all he saw was Whiskey kicking at a lump of snow near the wall.

Harry chuckled, "Upstairs. With Wood."

Ron blushed, laughing. "How long have they been up there?"

"About 3 hours." Harry screwed his face up, "It's okay, they put silencing charms up. But still. She's like our sister."

"Merlin. Should we set the table, go get some drinks ready for later?"

"Yeah. I'll leave a note when we go."

The two men started to set the table ready for the dinner party, they were going to let Hermione choose who sat where - they wouldn't make the mistake of trying to do that again.

"So how many settings do we need?"

Harry counted it up on his fingers, "Me, you, Hermione, Oliver, Luna, Neville, Draco, Gabrielle. And Scorpius on the end, but I can't imagine he'll stay at the table long, I've bought him the Finding Nemo DVD so he can go sit and watch that until he falls asleep."

Ron smiled, "You really love that kid."

"He's a sweet kid. I really love his dad, so it's hard not to love the miniature version."

Ron laughed and started setting the right glasses out, then Harry followed up with the cutlery.

* * *

Hermione was lying on her stomach, the duvet covering up her legs, and her long curly hair splayed down her back. "We missed you, you know." She looked over at him, applying cream to his bruises. "Here, come over and I'll do that for you."

He smiled at her and sat on the bed, pot of cream in hand. She leant over onto the floor and grabbed his jersey, pulling it on over her head. Oliver smirked appreciatively, "Merlin you look beautiful."

He put the tub down and went to kiss her again, but she grabbed his wrists, smirking. "Nuhuh. I have a dinner party to prepare for. And I need to shower. Do you want me to heal your bruises or not?"

"Maybe I could shower with you." He winked and kissed down her neck, and along her shoulder.

"Yes, but cream first." She replied sternly, teasing him. He sat still against the headboard and she gently rubbed the cream into his sore muscles, "Have you got any on your back?"

He nodded, moving over. There was a large bludger shaped bruise near where his kidney was located, it was dark purple and yellow. She applied a little pressure, and he winced. "Shit." He hissed.

"Sorry. But this is bad. Did you not see a healer for this when you were away?"

He blanched, biting his lip, _you're going to have to tell her_ , his subconscious nagged at him. "That's not from quidditch. I got into a bar fight."

"You what?!" She moved back on the bed, instinctively wrapping her arms around her stomach to protect herself and her blip of a baby.

"I speak Portuguese, so whilst we were out in Brazil, me and the guys would go to the local bars, the muggle ones - so we weren't followed by the press. I could obviously speak to the locals, and order the drinks, food, whatever."

"Yes, but none of that equates to your bruise that looks like internal bleeding, Oliver." She couldn't control her emotions right now, she was tired, hungry and pissed. But not at Oliver, well she probably would be soon, but she wasn't right now.

"There was a booth next door to us, and the guys there were clearly wizards, they were speaking in slightly slang wizarding Portuguese, but I've spent enough time out there to understand most of it. They were talking about you, bad mouthing you." He sighed, licked his lips and closed his eyes. He clearly didn't want to relive the painful memory but Hermione didn't care right now. "So I got the three of them, dragged them out onto the street and confronted them about it. They continued even when they saw who I was, so I punched one of them. And then they all punched me, anyway, I ended up on the ground, and I think that bruise is when I got kicked. It didn't bother me, I was in pain from training anyway, and I already had plenty of bruising so it didn't seem very suspicious."

He was sitting facing her by now, looking into her eyes. "You idiot." She grabbed a pillow and hit him with it. "Look at you. Merlin." She mumbled, curling up in his lap and kissing his lips gently.

"I'm okay Hermione, I'm just sore."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

She snuggled up to him, wishing herself not to cry. "And I had no idea, shit." She whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks. He took her face gently in his hands and brushed the tears away.

"Don't do that, don't cry over me."

"You're a bit too late for that ship, Ollie."

"What?" He genuinely looked confused, so Hermione decided to lay off the sarcasm.

"Whilst you were away, it was cold, I was lonely, everyone else had gone out, and I was worrying about you. I just missed you a lot, and it really ashamed me to admit that maybe I need you a lot more than I let on sometimes. So I just cried, but it's okay because Whiskey looked after me."

"You know it's not shameful to admit that you need someone?"

"I've never needed anyone. Ever. It's a foreign and very difficult concept for me."

He kissed her hair, "I love you, and our little one." He gently rested his hand on her stomach and she leaned against his chest.

"We love you too. Don't you ever get into a bar fight again." He nodded and jokingly saluted to her before she spoke again, "Also.. What other languages do you speak? I can't imagine Portuguese is the only one."

He blushed, "Portuguese, French, Spanish and a little Dutch, but not much."

* * *

The house looked beautiful, as it always did when Hermione decorated. There were strings of light bulbs hanging from the ceiling, casting a soft glow over the dining room, the table had tall candles nestled amongst flower arrangements that had been sprayed with artificial frost, each place setting had a little name card and there were great big jugs filled with alcoholic and non-alcoholic winter berry punch, clearly labelled. Hermione was wearing a grey halter neck dress which had wrap around scrunches to make the fabric cling in all the right places, the dress came to mid calf and she had her UGG slippers on her feet - a muggle brand that she'd discovered when she went to Australia. The slippers were her little bit of heaven. Oliver wore grey slack trousers with a white shirt tucked in, sleeves rolled up, slightly unbuttoned at the neck.

Ron had a black and dark grey check shirt on with maroon chinos - Gabrielle had picked them out so he now wore them nearly all of the time. Where as Harry wore a ripped jeans with a white and blue shirt: the shirt had a paisley print on it. Gabrielle had come over straight after her shift at St. Mungos and was currently getting ready in Ron's room, occasionally running in to Hermione's when she discovered she'd forgotten something.

At 7 pm, Draco and Scorpius walked in, Scorpius in chinos and a polo shirt, with a warm cardigan over the top, his hair curly and unruly, he'd clearly not let Draco comb it - but Draco showed no signs of a stressed single parent, he wore black slack trousers and a fitted black shirt with his ministry pin on the lapel of his jacket. He'd clearly come home from work not long before. Harry greeted them at the door, and kissed Draco on the lips. "How was work?"

Draco sighed, "It was fine, however I only got home 20 minutes ago, so I guess you could say it's been a long day."

"Drink?" Harry suggested, as Scorpius went running off to find Aunty Hermione.

"Merlin, please." He grinned and followed his boyfriend into the kitchen.

Just as Neville and Luna arrived Ron went to find Gabrielle, she was stood in front of the long mirror in his walk in wardrobe, debating on what earrings she should wear.

"Gabs, everyone is downstairs. You know you look stunning whatever you wear." Ron said, not even looking at Gabrielle, he had just poked his head into the doorway of his bedroom.

"Come help me choose." She smiled, beckoning him in. As he walked in she smirked, giggling as he stood there lost for words.

"Merlin. You look.."

She walked over to him, and stood on her tiptoes, whispering in his ear. "Wait until you see what I've got underneath."

He'd only just picked his jaw up from the floor after the last time, but then again it was right back on the floor. He gulped, "Wow. Okay. Earrings?" He said, his voice higher than it was when he was 12.

* * *

The party was in full swing, all of them sat at the dinner party enjoying their mains, when Neville stood. He grabbed a fork and tapped it against his glass, something that had come in handy at work with his students, however at work he tapped a baby mandrake pot. "I'd like to raise a toast."

The rest of the table stopped what they were doing and looked up to Neville, Luna especially, she smiled happily at her husband. They really were made for each other. "I would like to make a toast to Ron, for all of your hard work, battling your alcoholism, completing your NEWTs and finally becoming an auror. Not to mention, scoring an amazing girl like Gabrielle." He smiled and raised his glass to Ron. "Fred would be proud of you."

Ron made a small nod to Neville, who matched his gesture as the rest of the table clinked glasses and shouted 'TO RON'.


	27. Chapter 27

AN: Potential to offend people in this chapter, but these are not my views, just the views of a stereotypical lad in the 00's. I'm playing on stereotypes to stir up anger, and arguments, not to actually broadcast these beliefs.

* * *

As they were finishing up on desert, Hermione magically cleared the table and then levitated pots of coffee and tea onto the table, with biscuits and the like. Scorpius walked into the dining room, tugging on Harry's shirt, the man scooped him up and into his lap. The little boy snuggled close, "I'm sleepy." He mumbled, unable to keep his eyes open.

Harry leant over to Draco, who was sat next to him, "I'm just going to take Scorpius up to bed, he's alright in my bed yeah?"

Draco nodded, "Maybe accio the monitor, I don't think we'll hear him otherwise."

"Gotcha." Harry got up and picked Scorpius up, whispering in his ear, "Going to say night night to everyone?"

He wriggled and looked at the table, smiling, "Night.." He mumbled, dazed. It was 10 pm and everyone sat at the table were amazed at how long he'd managed to stay awake - clearly a Malfoy with his stubbornness.

As soon as Draco heard Harry's footsteps on the stairway he beckoned Oliver, Ron and Neville over from where they were sat. Gabrielle, Hermione and Luna were deep in conversation anyway, so they'd probably not look suspect.

"I want to ask something." Draco said, clearly getting the men's attention. He looked worried, an emotion that Neville had never seen, and one that Oliver and Ron rarely saw. "I want to ask Harry, to.. to marry me."

Oliver took the wrong moment to take a swig of his beer and did a good job holding it in. Ron mouthed his opinions straight away, "Marry him.. Merlin. It wasn't really that long since you were freaking out because Harry was caught looking at rings.."

Draco looked down, "I know. But it feels right. Scorpius adores him, we're like a family. And I know how much Harry wants this. Even if it's not exactly what I want to do, I want to make Harry happy, and that's all I want. He's the love of my life."

Oliver smiled, glancing over at Hermione. "When it's right, it's right." He shook Draco's hand and nodded to him, before walking back over to Hermione. He'd really missed her whilst he'd been away - even if he didn't let that on in his words.

Ron was still stood staring at Draco like a goldfish, when Neville spoke up. "I'll be honest mate. Thought you were a right bastard for a very long time.. But maybe you're just the bastard that Harry needs. Go for it." Draco laughed, a wide toothy smile. "Thanks Neville."

Finally, Ron. "Come on Ron, what do you think? Just get it off your chest." Draco said calmly, looking him straight in the eye.

"It's too soon. That's what I think."

"We've been dating 8 months."

"Because that's magically a really long time now?" Ron's voice had raised, and he didn't care. He was going to make his point.

Draco remained calm, neutral even. "It's enough."

"You've not even lived together!"

"Why do we have to? We're not exactly conventional."

"You could say that again." Ron spoke, making a snide remark.

"What are you trying to say, Ron?"

"You're fucking GAY Draco. It's not conventional, heck it's not normal." He shouted, and as soon as he said it he blanched. He knew what he'd said. He didn't even mean it. Gabrielle looked at him, hearing exactly what he said. She kissed the girls cheeks, grabbed her bag and walked right out of the house, right past Harry who was stood in the doorway to the kitchen. She didn't even want to hear it, he'd really messed up this time.

"Sorry Ron, could you repeat that please?" Harry spoke up, boiling with rage. "Go on. Say it again. Tell your best friend that he's unconventional, abnormal." There was malice and anger in Harry's voice that no one had heard before.

"I didn't mean it." Ron said quietly, looking between everyone.

"Then why did you say it?" Draco spoke up, his voice choked up, tears in his eyes - he'd never looked more broken. "I'm sorry Hermione." Draco kissed both of her cheeks and quickly made his goodbye's.

Harry kissed his cheek and whispered, "I'll bring Scorpius home as soon as, okay? Go cool down." He walked into the hallway with him and took his jacket from the cupboard, slipping it onto his shoulders. "I'll be there as soon as I can. I love you."

Draco just looked sad when he caught Harry's glance, "I know."

* * *

Ron sat on one of the sofa's in the lounge, his head between his knees. He felt sick. Why had he said that? He didn't mean a word of it. Harry and Draco were one of the best couples he knew, if they were gay or not didn't come into it. It never did.. So why had he said that?!

Neville and Luna had gone to their hotel, insisting that they get brunch the next day with Oliver and Hermione, to clear things up. Harry had gone over to Draco's with Scorpius, so it was just Oliver and Hermione left. They cleared up the kitchen, and walked into the lounge, sitting on the sofa opposite Ron. Oliver was fuming, but he kept his cool. Enough people were mad at Ron right now.

"Ronald, you're going to have to look at us at some point." Hermione said, still in her outfit. She was tired and uncomfortable, this was the last thing she wanted to deal with right now - but who else would do it?

"I know." He mumbled, feeling sorry for himself.

"No. You do not have the right to feel pity right now, you are in the wrong. You have made two people who you love, feel like outcasts. Feel like a part of them is wrong, and you have no fucking right to do that Ronald Weasley. So sit up. Own your actions, and think about what you're going to do to make it up to them."

Oliver smirked, _that's my girl._ Ron sat up and looked at the both of them, he felt like he was in detention.

"I didn't even mean it. I don't have a problem with them being gay. It's not my opinion." He ran his fingers through his hair, thinking about where the opinion could have come from. "It's an institutionalised opinion. People in the media or anywhere, have made me think like this. I don't believe that gay people aren't normal."

"That's fine. But I deal with homophobia every single day at work, the guys on the team can be brutal. It's disgusting. But I'm not institutionalised, I've not changed because people around me are sick." Oliver said, laying out the facts.

Ron simply nodded, he didn't know where to go from here. He was stuck. What he had said to Draco was irreversible. "How do I fix this?"

"You apologise. But not now. Now, they are upset, and they are angry and they don't want to be thinking about you and what you said. In time, you speak to them, you say sorry, you change. And I think you're going to need to talk to Gabrielle too, she looked so disappointed in you Ronald." Hermione spoke simply, but effectively. It was exactly what Ron needed to hear.

"I'm going to take Whiskey for a walk."

"Layer up." Hermione's mouth tugged up into a small smile, but that was all. She couldn't really bare to look at him, but someone had to make sure he did the right thing.

* * *

Laying in bed, Draco had his head resting on Harry's chest. Listening to his heartbeat and the gentle rise and fall of Harry's chest was soothing, and made him stop thinking about everything that had happened. He was grateful Harry hadn't asked about how the argument had started, because he wasn't sure what he'd say.

"Are you okay?" Harry whispered, running his fingers through Draco's hair.

"Not really." He mumbled, defeated. "It brought back everything with my father, and my family. Them, not accepting me for me."

"They're the ones missing out, you are an amazing, caring, beautiful human being. Whoever you love." Harry kissed his forehead, and Draco sat up, facing Harry with his legs crossed. Harry still hadn't gotten changed, he was too worried about Draco.

"You should get changed, Harry. I'll be alright you know."

"Let. Me. Worry." Between each word he kissed Draco gently, "I know you're not used to it, having someone worry and fuss over you, but I need this."

Draco finally managed to convince Harry to get out of his clothes, "Why don't we have a bath?" Harry said, laying his shirt over the chair in Draco's room.

"Okay." Draco had pulled the covers up over himself, and was snuggling into Harry's side of the bed. It smelt like him, it smelt like home.

When the bath was finally ready, Harry called for Draco, and they sat in the roll top tub, Draco between Harry's legs.

"Scorpius did well to stay awake so long, didn't he?" Harry said, making light conversation, steering Draco's thoughts away from the topic.

"He's stubborn, but I haven't met a toddler that isn't." He laughed, popping the bubbles with his finger.

"He's like you, that's why." He kissed the back of his neck gently, "But he's perfect. Like you."

Draco grinned, "I wouldn't go telling Scorpius that, we don't want a repeat of 11 year old me."

"How come you got back from work so late?"

"I had a meeting with Kingsley, which reminds me. I need to go up to Hogwarts next week, for about four days. Would you be able to look after Scorpius?"

"Shit. I'm working up there again. Sorry."

"Are you? Is it that DADA teacher again?"

Harry nodded, "Could your mother look after Scorp?"

"Probably, I'll owl her. Want to rent a cottage for the week then? So we don't impose on Neville and Luna."

"That sounds great, a bit of time to ourselves will be good for us.." He whispered, kissing along Draco's shoulder blades.

Draco licked his lips, "I like your thinking, Potter."

* * *

As Hermione and Oliver walked into the Bluebird the next morning, Neville and Luna were already sat at a table by the fire. They took a seat after saying their customary greetings.

Hermione was looking through the menu, rubbing her stomach. "Luna please tell me the nausea stops. It has to stop at some point." She grumbled, Oliver smiled and kissed her temple.

"Oh it does! But then after about 5 months you feel so bloated and fat that you kind of wish the nausea would come back."

"Just great. Oliver, remind me, why do we want children?" She joked, causing Neville to raise an eyebrow.

"Sarcasm mate." Oliver filled in for Neville.

After they had all ordered what they were going to have, Hermione wandlessly put up silencing charms, "How's work then you two?"

Neville shrugged, "It's good. It's hard work, and it's a lot of marking, but I always count myself lucky that I go home at the end of the day, and I only work one weekend a month."

"Shit yeah, I completely forgot that professors are on duty over the weekends.." Oliver said, the thought suddenly hitting him. "How's Gryffindor's quidditch team?"

"Winning. By a lot. Their keeper almost rivals you back in the day." He grinned, whilst Luna poured a potion into her tea.

"What's that Luna?" Hermione inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh it's this bizarre thing the healers gave me, a mix of things to keep the baby healthy. It tastes horrendous though, so I always mix it into tea when I'm eating."

"When do you start taking it?" Hermione screwed her face up, not looking forward to that day. The boys were deep in conversation about Hogwarts and quidditch.

"About 3 months? I think they prescribed it for me when I had my first scan."

"Mine's in a week or two, damn."

"You get used to it, I wouldn't worry, and you'll only take half the dose of mine."

"Oh, how come?" Hermione raised an eyebrow, thinking that Luna had gone mad.

"Well I'm having twins."


	28. Chapter 28

Ron sat in Gabrielle's favourite coffee shop, in one of the two leather armchairs that she frequented on her breaks. He knew all of her favourite spots, where she had hidden books in parts of wizarding London, so that when she had a break or fifteen minutes to herself she could just sit and read. The rain was coming down hard and heavy against the glass facade of the building and there were witches and wizards rushing about trying to get out of the rain. Ron had owled Gabrielle earlier in the day to see if she would come see him, so he could apologise. She reluctantly agreed, even though she could think of better things to be doing with her time; she thought Ron was different, not like the French men she left back home, she thought he was sensitive and caring, things she looked for in a man. Apparently not.

Gabrielle had her long blonde hair twisted up and back into a milk bottle braid, she had her pink scrubs on - so she'd clearly been in the children's ward that morning and her face was devoid of make up, as most nurses tended to be. Ron waved her over, and her usual chai was sat on the table, with a slice of chocolate cake next to it. "It's apology cake." He raised his eyebrows and bit his lip, hoping that she would accept it.

"You'll have to do more than zis." She said, sitting down and ditching her umbrella next to her. Nevertheless, Gabrielle took a fork and ate a little of it, closing her eyes and revelling in how good it tasted. "But it is not bad."

"I didn't mean what I said." Ron said immediately, cutting to the chase. "It just came out, and it's not my opinion in the slightest, but for some reason I said it and regretted it and they're the best couple I know, if they're gay or not, it doesn't come into it. I don't know why I said it but all I know is I've disappointed a lot of people I love and you're on that list too, so I thought I should apologise, I'm not sure how I can make it up to you, but I thought cake would be a good start and now I'm rambling like a crazy person, please just forgive me Gabs, you're the best thing that has ever happened to me and I'm more than lucky to have you." He paused for a breath and was just about to start talking again when Gabrielle coughed.

"Dear Merlin, Ronald, just stop. If I forgive you will you just stop talking."

He nodded, and she relaxed into the chair, it was like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

"How was your shift this morning? Children's ward?"

She made a small nodding gesture, rubbing her eyes and sighing. "It was tough. Really really tough."

"Do you want to talk about it?" He offered her his hand and she took it, he squeezed it gently and she smiled sadly. It was a welcomed gesture.

"We had twins, and they were about seven years old. A boy and a girl. Xanthe and Xavier." Ron felt Gabrielle's hand freeze up as she said their names, but she persevered. "They both had cancer, and as much as we can do, all of the healing potions under the sun could not help zem. Xanthe passed away about four am, Xavier about 10 minutes after that."

"Merlin.." Ron mumbled, getting up to hug Gabrielle. She didn't even care about the other people in the coffee shop when she curled up in Ron's lap and cried against his chest.

"And I had to tell the parents, I've never seen someone look so heart broken. Never. Those children were the light of zere lives, I have no idea how they will get past this." She mumbled, she felt cold, exhausted and betrayed, someone somewhere must have been able to do something for those children, they had their whole lives ahead of them. How is it that as wizards, they could bring people back from the dead but they couldn't save two scared seven year olds?

Ron rubbed her back gently, holding her to his chest. He kept an eye on the clock for her so that she wouldn't be late, but right now she needed him to hold her and make her feel like the world wasn't such a bad place after all.

* * *

Once Gabrielle had gone back to St. Mungo's, Ron went back to the house, ready to apologise to Harry and Draco before they left for Hogsmeade, but he got home to find that they'd gone early - Draco had had to take care of something at Hogwarts. It was 2 pm by the time Harry and Draco arrived at Hogwarts, they'd dropped their bags off at the cottage and Draco's mother had collected Scorpius, Draco had rung the pre-school and let them know that Scorpius would be away for a week, so they were all ready.

"I'm going up to the classroom to check if any plans have been left behind for the week, okay?" Harry said as they walked up the main steps, he kissed Draco's cheek.

"I'll be with Professor McGonnogal. The password is currently hortensia, come find us when you're done. Yeah?"

Harry nodded and walked down the corridor to the appropriate staircase for the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. He smiled at the students as they rushed around the castle, most of the sixth and seventh years were sat in empty classrooms or the library, cramming for their mid term exams - the ones which would decide if they were ready for their finals. They always passed them with flying colours, as they were designed to be half as difficult as NEWTs or OWLs. Draco was looking to abolish mid terms altogether, they were pointless in his eyes, and in most students minds. As Harry walked into the DADA classroom, he found two seventh years sat at a desk, with piles of books spread around them.

"Oh shit!" One mumbled to his friend as Harry walked in the room.

The other one kicked his friend and turned around, "Sorry sir, we thought the classroom was free for the afternoon."

Harry laughed, putting his bag down by the desk at the front. "It is, I'm just checking up on the plans for next week, time tabling etcetera. You can stay in here."

They both thanked him and continued with their revision, Harry found nothing on the desk and nothing in the draws, so he reluctantly turned to the two boys. "Sorry, do you know where sir keeps his timetable, at the very least?"

"Um, I actually think it's taped underneath his desk." Said one of the boys. "I'm Fred by the way."

"Alex." The other one introduced himself, Harry tried to keep composure when Fred introduced himself, some things were still hard to hear.

"Professor Potter, but I think we've met before.."

"You had our class a couple of weeks ago, but obviously we know you." Fred smiled, still writing notes.

Alex joined in, "You just don't know us."

Harry smiled, they were like the Weasley twins, just not twins. He wriggled himself underneath the desk and muttered lumos, holding his wand up to the timetable that was indeed stuck underneath the desk, he took a mental image of it with his wand, and stored it away for future reference. He had doubles with the first years tomorrow, Ravenclaw x Slytherin and Gryffindor x Hufflepuff. The afternoon wouldn't be too bad, but the morning was sure to be hell. Just before lunch he had the seventh years, but he presumed they wouldn't need to be taught much more, they should just be prepping for the exams.

"Fred, Alex, have you finished the content?"

They shrugged, and Alex looked at his coursebook, flipping to the end. Patronus. "We've not been taught about Patronuses."

"I don't even know how to cast one." Fred said, bewildered.

"Merlin." Harry muttered, pushing his glasses up his nose. "When are your exams?"

"Next week." The boys said together, and then grinned when Harry looked surprised.

"You realise that a patronus conjuring now comes up in your practical NEWT exam, therefore you should have been able to cast one weeks ago.." Harry said, leaning against the desk.

"Do you know if anyone in your class can cast a patronus?"

"No one can."

"Merlin." Harry muttered again, this was going to be a long week. "How many are there in the class?"

"17." They replied at the same time again, continuing to freak Harry out.

"Thanks boys," he said, walking out of the room with two course text books, and the work books from the first years - to see how much they'd done. Clearly whoever taught DADA at the moment wasn't coping with the work load, the first year books hadn't been marked in weeks. Harry walked up to Professor McGonnogal's office, muttering the password and making his way up the stone staircase.

She saw him immediately, standing up and greeting him with a hug. "Harry, it's lovely to see you again. Are you well?"

He smiled and nodded, "Very, thank you. I wish I could say the same for the DADA teacher, whoever it is."

McGonnogal sighed, walking back over to her desk where Draco was sat comfortably, Harry took a seat next to him. "Professor Dymond is not coping well with the pressures of full time teaching, we're unsure whether he will be continuing next year."

"I'm sure you're aware then, that the seventh years have no idea how to cast a patronus."

Draco turned to Harry and raised an eyebrow, as Minister for Education he was even more concerned. "What?"

McGonnogal nodded gravely, "Yes, I'm aware. Hannah, the Head Girl, mentioned it last week at our meeting. I informed her that one of the best professors around would be whipping the class into shape ahead of the exams."

Harry blushed, "That's kind of you Professor, but one week to teach patronuses really isn't enough. Is there any way of them having extra lessons? I know you don't have free periods anymore but.."

Draco was sat with his planner, scribbling notes - that Harry presumed were from his meeting with McGonnogal, and not the conversation of present.

"Well, if you're happy to teach after hours then I'm sure the class would be happy to work till 5.30 maybe three nights this week?"

Harry nodded, "Okay. If you don't mind me asking, what is Professor Dymond off with?"

"Stress." McGonnogal sighed, "I know not everyone is cut out for teaching, but there are many great professors at this school that taught through a war, through a school that was crumbling right in front of them, many professors who hid children away from the perils of death eaters and the like. Anyway, that's enough bad mouthing of my staff. I assure you will keep what I have said to yourselves." She looked down her nose at the two of them, and Harry felt like he was back at school again - nothing had changed.

It was getting on for 10.30 pm by the time Harry and Draco were back to their cottage, it was small and homely, all exposed stone work, low ceilings with dark wooden beams. There was one bedroom and a bathroom, a large kitchen and a cosy snug area. They didn't need much more, a large kitchen table provided enough space for the two of them to work of an evening, Draco had thoughts of buying the cottage, and extending the attic so that Scorpius would have a room too.

"How did your meeting with McGonnogal go?"

Draco nodded, taking his black suit jacket off and hanging it over a chair. "It was fine. The school is in for major staffing changes, and I want to propose that we remove mid terms. I think McGonnogal will be in opposition of the mid terms, but it will definitely remove stress from the students and boost moral, give them more time to study the content and then have a half term solely dedicated to revision."

Harry was preparing some supper at the chopping board, "The seventh years seem really overwhelmed by everything, it's a lot on their plate really. Especially if they have other classes where they haven't finished the content."

Draco ran his fingers through his hair, "They do. Herbology, Care of Magical creatures, Divination, Charms, and Ancient Ruins are the only ones to have finished their courses. I'm tearing my hair out, and it's not that McGonnogal isn't doing a good job, it's that staff are hard to come by so we're not getting the best quality. Anyway, the meeting I had with Kingsley last week should sort that out."

"Oh yeah? What is this grand plan?" Harry grinned, putting two plates on the table with BLT's and crisps on.

"We're doing an ad campaign to get more people to study teaching, so like how Neville trained to be a teacher, that's a sure fire way to ensure we get the best possible staff. Train them with the best."

"Do you think you surprise McGonnogal?"

"She sits there with her mouth on the floor most of the time." Draco replied sarcastically, "No, I think I do surprise her, she never thought I'd become a decent human being."

"Well, you're my decent human being." Harry grinned, kissing Draco's cheek.


	29. Chapter 29

AN: I'm going away for 11 days so posting will be very sporadic, not that it isn't at the moment. Thanks for reading & I always welcome feed back!

* * *

Harry was sat with his head on the desk, it was 5.45 pm. He'd just finished his final class with the seventh years, and next week they would be taking their exams. Most of them were able to produce a patronus, and the two that couldn't promised they'd practice all weekend. But none of them were perfect, so hopefully the nerves and the adrenaline of the exams would help them along. He wasn't a religious man but he really wanted to pray for them right now.

 **Knock, Knock.**

"Professor Potter?" Draco said softly, leaning against the door frame. "Are you ready to go home yet?"

Harry looked up, pushing his fingers through his hair and pushing his glasses up his nose. He grabbed the leather satchel from the side of the desk, slipped his suit jacket back on and nodded. "Yeah. Let's go home."

"How were the sevenths?"

"They were okay, I don't know if they'll produce patronuses or not. As in, I have absolutely no idea." Harry slipped his hand into Draco's, just for Draco to draw his hand back in.

"We can't, not in school, Harry."

"How come?"

"Because I don't want you to be in danger from people at this school, you may be called back to work here again, and Slytherins are mean. Not all of them, but some of them can be homophobic little buggers."

Harry nodded, laughing a little. "Fine. But you can't keep me away when we get home."

"Nor would I want to, pixie." Draco smiled, taking Harry's satchel from him. It weighed a tonne. "What's in this?"

"The first and second year's marking. I'll send it back to the school before class starts again on Monday."

"You're not paid to do that.."

"It's called being nice," Harry teased. "Maybe you should try it sometime."

Draco rolled his eyes and they walked down the path to Hogsmeade.

* * *

Ginny had returned from her holiday in Devon a couple of days ago, she'd had to cancel a few appointments with Healer Turbs but he said that it was a good idea - at this point in her therapy they would be cutting back on sessions and it was vital to see how she coped with that. Hermione and Oliver had their first scan today so they went to St Mungo's with Ginny, leaving Gabrielle and Ron lying in at home. Ron had had his first week as an auror, but all he'd done so far was fill out other people's paper work - as well as being sent for a bucket of steam, for him to realise an hour later that you can't bucket steam.

"Good luck guys." Ginny kissed Hermione's cheek and hugged her, before they walked to the maternity ward to have their scan with Healer Montgomery. He had been assigned as her doctor throughout the pregnancy, but Hermione had also applied to have a midwife there at the birth. Midwives were seldom used in the wizarding world but Hermione, being a muggle born, would feel safer if her baby was in the hands of someone who was specially trained.

As she sat outside Healer Turbs' office, she thought about how Luna and Neville's baby would probably be in the same school year as Hermione and Oliver's, how lucky they were to go to Hogwarts with childhood friends. Few people go to Hogwarts with established friendships as most wizarding children are home schooled, but then Draco wanted to change that by introducing more primary schools - so Merlin knows what the next generation of wizards will be like.

"Ginny?" Dan opened his door and called for her, but she was sat in her little trance, thinking. He gently tapped her shoulder and she lashed out, jumping up and went to punch his face, square across the jaw. He grabbed both her wrists before her knuckles came in contact, her body fell limp and she stood staring at him, slowly coming to the realisation of what she had done.

"Dan.. Shit, I'm so sorry." She tried to bring her hands away, to look away, _to run away_ , her subconscious kept telling her. It was a fight or fly moment and her first instinct hadn't worked so she'd have to go with the latter. She was shaking, her skin pale and glistening with a cold sweat, her eyes were nervously darting around the hall way, there were no other patients around but she felt claustrophobic, like the walls were closing in on her and she had no escape, she couldn't take the immense pressure in her head anymore when she dropped to the floor like a lead balloon. It happened so quickly that Healer Turbs didn't even manage to catch her before she fell, but once she was on the ground he picked her up, taking her into his office, he laid her down on the sofa and pulled a blanket over her.

When Ginny finally came to he was sat at his desk doing paper work, typing away on a laptop that looked very similar to Hermione's. She opened her eyes slowly, very aware of the piercing pain in her temple. Looking around she realised where she was immediately, and then the memories of what happened fell into place. Dan realised that she was waking up too, so pushed himself away from his desk and walked over to her, sitting in his chair opposite. "Ginny?" He spoke softly, letting her come around to her surroundings.

"Why did I pass out?" She mumbled, reaching for the glass of water on the table.

"I'm not sure, I was going to ask you if you were comfortable having that conversation now."

She took a sip from the cold water, and she felt refreshed, there must have been something in it, but Ginny didn't care right now, she'd never felt so lousy. "It felt like the walls were closing in. I couldn't see my escape route and it reminded me of something that happened, where I couldn't get out. And then my head felt like someone was crushing it, it was just so painful.. That's all I remember." She mumbled, twiddling her fingers, a nervous habit.

"Do you suffer from claustrophobia?"

"Not really. I like to see my exits."

"It's a branch of claustrophobia, having a way out at all times. Extremely common with war victims, especially since you were involved with war at such a young age."

"I'm sorry I tried to punch you."

"It's my fault, I know not to touch you when you can't see the person, it was my fault for doing something like that." He scribbled a few notes down, then put his pen down on the desk, next to the leather bounded note book. She realised, a few weeks into their therapy, that he had a note book just for her, which was either a good or a bad thing - she still hadn't decided. "Where have you gone Ginny?"

She snapped back into the room, raising an eyebrow slightly. "Gone?"

"You looked very deep in thought, where did you go?"

"I was just wondering if it's a good or a bad thing that you have a note book on me?"

He smiled at her and opened up the note book onto a random page, entitled 22nd January. She took it from his hands, smiling at the wedding ring, the DT embroidered on his shirt sleeve, the little details of his clothing and himself that brought out his personality.

 _Earlier than usual to the appointment, still waited outside even though she knows she's more than welcome to come in. Must be a better day. Wearing heels, so no physical PTSD symptoms. Slack jeans, loose shirt and thick parka. It's cold outside today. Raining. No make up. Hair in a braid. Talks about her dream: torture. I push about who saves her from her dreams, still no response. We talk about the kids. Making progress. She smiles more than usual, laughs at my bad jokes, she doesn't drink as much water. No nervous shakes. No fiddling of the hands. No playing with hair. Does rub eyes a lot, sign of fatigue. Does look at wrists a lot, sign that she's covering something up. Requests music in background: more likes and dislikes to add to the list. Doesn't wear gloves even though it's cold, doesn't complain of the cold even though it's freezing. Unusual. Perhaps just warmer clothing? Able to look after self better._

Ginny put the book down, and looked at him. "You do this every single time?"

He nodded, trying to gauge her reaction, "Yes. Little things are the key to people's personality."

"And why do you need to know so much about my personality?" She enquired, she wasn't being rude, just inquisitive, and he could see that.

"Intrigue." He shrugged, picking his book up again. Then he grinned, "Just kidding, it's not intrigue. It's how I help my patients, I didn't know you before this, and now I feel like I know you a lot, and I know the quirks of your personality. What you wear, how you do your hair, these are all integral parts of how you're feeling. I know that it takes a long time to do a plait, so you're feeling better that morning, you want to put some effort into how you look. But if you walk into my office, wearing sweats and a messy bun, I know that you can't be bothered, so I shouldn't push you too hard."

She sat with her mouth agape, "Wow, are all shrinks like this?"

"I don't think so. It's just something I do, really." He laughed, "I did it to my husband all the time when I was studying, and at Hogwarts too, now I think about it."

"You must be impossible to have an argument with."

* * *

A little way down the corridor and to the left was another wing, the private maternity / children's wing. Small children were running around happily, or being pushed around in wheelchairs, along with expectant mothers and happy couples. Oliver and Hermione walked hand in hand past a room full of cots, with little babies all swaddled up sleeping happily. Hermione smiled, looking over at them. "We're going to have one of those in 6 months."

"Do I get to pick from that lot?" Oliver grinned, teasing. "I quite like the look of the one over there, but the rest are no good."

She punched him on the arm and walked down to the room without him. "That hurt!" Oliver called out, not in the least bit surprised, Hermione had punched him before and he knew she could pack a punch.

Once they were settled, Hermione pushed her shirt up and rested it on her boobs, her slightly swollen belly was well hid from the public eye at all times, she didn't want reporters taking pictures of her whilst she was pregnant - it was a part of her life that she wanted to keep hidden away until her child was old enough. Healer Montgomery started to apply the gel, wandlessly levitating the bottle and moving it around. "So have you been having any symptoms?"

"Nausea, morning sickness, a few aches and pains, headaches, and the scars on my back hurt a lot more than ever before." Oliver reached over for her hand and squeezed it, he had no idea about the pain from her scars, or her headaches, but Hermione wouldn't have kept it from him intentionally.

"All normal Miss Granger, and the pain will be back ache, just because your scars are there, psychologically you will think it is pain coming from the scars, not just a pain in your back. I can prescribe some pain potions if you wish, or you can use muggle remedies. Ibuprofen is probably best." He smiled, aware from her form that she preferred muggle remedies to pain potions so he had taken the time to look them up on the muggle internet. They did similar things, but had different side effects. It was no bother to him, and she was the patient after all. "Are you ready to see your baby?"

Hermione nodded, looking at the screen, and there, right in front of them, was the tiniest little blip, with four limbs and a head protruding from its jelly bean of a body. She squeezed tighter onto Oliver's hand, and glanced up at him. He was sat mesmerised by the whole experience, he couldn't quite believe that in six months he was going to be a dad to that tiny little thing, that didn't even know it was alive yet. "That's our baby, Hermione." He whispered, clutching her hand tight.

"I know Ollie." She kissed his hand, and looked up at Healer Montgomery, "Can we have two prints please?" He smiled and nodded, walking over to the printer.

"Two?"

"I know you keep a picture of me and you in your wallet, Ollie. I figure you'll want a picture of our little blip, too."

He blushed, thinking of the picture in his wallet. It was a rare moment of privacy between the two of them, sat out in the garden of Hermione's house, no one else was home, and they were all snuggled up under a blanket with a roaring fire. Hermione had forced him into taking the picture because she was complaining that they never captured their memories, but he had never been more grateful for a picture in his life. It was his lucky charm, he never went a match without giving it a shake before hand, and watching as the Hermione and Oliver on the photograph laughed and held onto each other, like there was some sort of earthquake. She was the light of his life, and soon there would be another addition to his happiness.


	30. Chapter 30

**Valentines Day.**

Harry had only been home during the day when he knew Ron was at work, other than that he had been staying at Draco's. He'd not seen Ginny or Hermione in what felt like forever, and he was even starting to miss Ron a little. But Ron hadn't apologised, or even tried to make contact with him. So he couldn't even start to think about reconciling with him, if Ron didn't start the negotiations off. It was a couple of weeks since the dreaded dinner party, and Harry was laying in Draco's bed, taping photos into a photo album for Valentines Day. Draco had gone to work a couple of hours earlier, and then Harry had dropped Scorpius off at pre-school. Even though Harry would be home all day it was important for Scorpius to see his friends, and learn social skills that Draco was self-admittedly lacking in, even at 11. The photo album was a simple brown paper scrapbook that Harry had picked up in Flourish and Blotts, then Harry had gotten a whole stack of photos printed off, some with just Harry and Draco in, some of Harry, Scorpius and Draco, and then quite a few that Draco had taken with his camera. The man found the easiest way to relax after a long day at work was to grab his camera and take photos, of everything and anything, but he especially loved taking photos of Harry. Something about him being a 'good subject'.

Once Harry was finally finished, he wrapped the album up in paper and scrawled 'To Draco' in the corner of it. He knew that Ron would be at work so he went round to his house, out of habit pushing open the front door, but then found it wasn't locked. Which was odd. Both Hermione and Ron were at work, and Oliver would be at training.. Harry locked the door from the inside, and walked through to the kitchen, Ron was sat at the kitchen table. Harry had no way he could back out of this. He knew what was coming.

"Harry! Please. Wait." Ron pleaded with him, he was wearing his auror robes so was clearly out on field work. It annoyed Harry to know that Ron suited the robes, Harry felt a sense of pride in him for his friend that he really wanted to quash. "I know you've been avoiding me Harry and that's fine, I get it. I was a dick. But you've got to hear me out at least.." Harry finally took a seat opposite him at the kitchen table, as much as he could complain that Ron hadn't apologised, Harry had been avoiding him, so he might've been trying to make an effort, but Harry would never have known. Merlin knows how long it could have gone on for.

"Go on then." Harry murmured, looking Ron right in the eyes. He controlled the conversation, he'd learnt that from the war, if you look someone in the eye first, then you have their gaze, and they would be stupid to break that, but if the other person looks you in the eye, then you're at their mercy.

"I didn't mean what I said. I don't mean what I said. You two are an amazing couple, and it wouldn't cross my mind if you're gay or straight, or bisexual or pansexual, or whatever you are. I know that you're still the same top bloke, you haven't changed one bit in my eyes. I spoke to Draco earlier and we've cleared the air, so you're the only person left. And I don't know what more to say, I was shocked by something Draco said, and this part of me that I didn't even know existed, it just took over me. Like when someone goes to touch you, and you don't know they're coming, so you immediately get your wand out, or punch them. It's like that for me, I just go and say the first nasty thing that comes to mind. So, all I really have to say is: I'm sorry."

Harry smiled a little, nodding. "Okay. I forgive you. But you need to toe the line in future." Ron held up his hands in a surrender position and grinned, Harry couldn't help but forgive him, what he said was awful, but he's done worse. And he couldn't live without his best friend. "Got time for a brew?"

The ginger man sat across from him nodded, "Only a quick one though. I'm meant to be patrolling outside Gringotts, supposed break in, but Matthew covered for me. Just had to give him one of George's products that haven't been released yet, I think he said it was for his kid."

Harry placed two mugs of coffee on the table, and grabbed the biscuit barrel, "So are you a lot younger than the rest of them?"

"Not really," he shrugged, "It kind of ranges from 25 ish to about 48. That's when your line of duty comes to an end, unless you're as physically fit as a 30 year old. Some people make it to 55. But I think in Matthew's case, him and his wife just had kids young. He's probably about 30?"

"So a bit like Draco and Astoria." Harry shuddered saying her name, which Ron chose to ignore. "Anyway, what are you and Gabrielle doing for Valentines Day?"

"Eh, she's got to work the night shift. And then the tomorrow she's got interviews, day after that she's working the 2 am till 12 shift so I think if she's not too tired we'll go out for a film and some dinner that night."

"Merlin, I thought Draco had a busy schedule. Does Gabrielle ever stop?"

"Nope. She's running herself into the ground for her patients, and she's an amazing healer already, but it scares me that she'll burn out soon."

"Maybe you could cook her dinner then at home? I can make sure the house is clear that night. Even look after Whiskey if you want."

"Are you sure?" Ron finished up his coffee, and decided to take fourth biscuit, to Harry's amusement.

"Yeah! Ginny can stay at Draco's, Hermione can actually stay over at Wood's for a change, I'll bring Whiskey with me to Draco's."

"Thanks mate. I mean it." Ron said sincerely, and Harry reached out to shake his hand. All was forgotten.

* * *

Meanwhile, Draco and Hermione were at a heads of departments meeting, sat next to each other like usual. The meeting hadn't started yet because most of the finance divisions were late, all four heads of separate finance departments. Hermione smiled over to Aurora Hemmings, Head of Department for intoxicating substances and illegal goods. She was a kind, older lady with circular glasses that sat on her nose, and a tight upper lip. She reminded Hermione of McGonnogal in more ways than one, and when Hermione told Aurora this she laughed and said that they were best friends throughout Hogwarts.

"So, since its the big V day, we'll break our policy of not talking about spouses at work. What have you got Oliver for Valentines Day then?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Merlin, not you too. I thought you'd be in the same ship as me, thinking that Valentines Day is another one of these stupid traditions, I thought that coming into the wizarding world that you wouldn't have adopted the muggle holiday."

"It's a wizarding holiday, Hermione. Cupid was magical, literally." He laughed, but abruptly stopped when Hermione didn't see the humour in it.

"I don't like it. It's fake, if Oliver can't do a simple gesture to show that he loves me any random day of the year then he clearly doesn't love me if he only does it on Valentines day." Hermione stated, and the conversation was over. Inwardly she was smirking, she missed being able to sass people, no one in her office would play ball with her and get hooked into a verbal sass match. And Oliver would just walk away if she was in a sassy mood, it wasn't worth his time or energy to fight back.

Kingsley stood from his chair, he was at the head of the table, a few chairs away from where Draco and Hermione were sat. "Now that finance have finally arrived," a low chuckle came from the people sat around the table, along with a few red faces of the finance team, "We will begin."

* * *

Hermione finally got home at 8 o clock that evening, the meeting had finished at 5 in accounts for the fact that it was Valentines Day, but Hermione had stayed on at the office a bit longer, her staff had emptied out at 5 too, so she managed to get a lot of work done. It wasn't until Oliver owled her to ask if she was ever coming home that she finally looked at the clock. Draco had prepared a luxury picnic for Harry, that they were going to eat in the back garden, he'd arranged it all perfectly, with a fire lit too. Ron and Ginny had gone up to the burrow for the evening, to celebrate their parents wedding anniversary, apparently they loved valentines day enough to actually get married on the date.

She unlocked the front door and walked inside, hanging her coat up on the stand. "Ollie?" She called out, and smiled when she saw him in the living room.

"I thought you would've been home hours ago, Draco said the meeting finished at 5."

"You saw Draco?"

"Bumped into him when I went out food shopping."

She kicked her boots off and slipped her suit jacket off. "I'm going to go get changed out of my work clothes, can we just watch a film or something? I'm completely knackered." She stifled a yawn as she walked upstairs, to her bedroom.

Oliver jumped up as soon as she was gone, and went to the kitchen, taking a plate of chocolate covered strawberries from the fridge, a bottle of non-alcoholic champagne, and a big box of truffles. He knew she hated Valentines day, and that was okay, he likes that she's unconventional, but he wanted to spoil his girl, and there was nothing wrong with that. He put it all out on the coffee table in the lounge, and sat back down in the same space. Hermione had no idea what was going on when she walked back downstairs in her yoga pants and his old puddlemere jersey from last season. She also had her UGG slippers on and a thick grey cardigan, with no make up and her hair up in a loose ponytail, Oliver thought she'd never looked so gorgeous.

"Hey gorgeous. What film do you want to watch?" He smiled, leaning over the sofa to face her.

"Ooh can we watch four weddings and a funeral?" She grinned, hoping that his good mood would mean he was going to let her watch a rom-com.

"Sure babe. How was work?"

She rubbed her eyes and joined him on the sofa, completely oblivious to the things laid out on the table. "Long, but good. I managed to get loads of paper work filed because my staff all went home at 5. I think by the time I left there was only about 10 people left in the whole of the ministry, even Kingsley left before me today…" Her speech tapered off as she suddenly became aware of the strawberries, champagne flutes, and truffles sat on the table.

"Now I know you hate Valentines Day, but this is my very special, Wednesday the 14th of February surprise. You work damn hard, you're three months pregnant.. Oh and," he grabbed the bottle of champagne from the side of the sofa. "I'm team captain." He grinned as Hermione's face changed to one of shock.

"No way! I knew you could do it Ollie!" She jumped on him and hugged him tight, kissing his lips. "I'm so proud of you. When did you find out?"

"This morning, but I wanted to keep it a secret till I saw you face to face."

"Alright, I'll let you off. And I'll let you off for giving me a Wednesday the 14th surprise." She smiled shyly, and snuggled up close to him. "Oliver Wood, Puddlemere captain."

He smiled, "Sounds good doesn't it? Oh and, you know how we like to do things first in this family? Well, I'm the youngest captain that Puddlemere has ever had." He smirked as Hermione high fived him.

"Oliver Wood, you're my hero." She had that twinkle in her eye, straddled on his lap. Maybe Valentines Day wouldn't be too bad after all.


	31. Chapter 31

"Get your butt over here Palmer!" Oliver shouted, from the stands of the Puddlemere stadium. "PALMER!" He screamed again, safe to say the second time Oliver shouted, Palmer did actually fly over and hover by the stand.

Palmer was Oliver's best friend, his actual name was Scott, but no one really called him that apart from his girlfriend, Rachel, and his parents. He was in the same year as Oliver at Hogwarts, Gryffindor too, they were thick as thieves since first year. Palmer became a beater on the team six months ago, he had a large build, and stood at 6'2, Oliver used to be able to hide behind Palmer and not be seen at all - which came in handy when hiding from McGonnogal.

"What is it Wood?" He was out of breath, but grinning, he loved quidditch as much as Oliver did, and the rush of his broom stick flying through the air, the sensation he got when he thwacked a bludger into the distance, that was what made him who he was.

"I wanted to ask you a question." Oliver was nervous, and he rarely got nervous, especially around Palmer.

"Come on you troll, spit it out." Palmer grinned, chucking his bat up in the air and catching it again.

"Will you be my best man?"

Palmer dropped his bat. The thud was heard a few seconds later. He easily jumped into the stands and left his broom to levitate, hugging Wood quickly. "Of course I fucking will! Legend!" He gripped his hands on both of Oliver's arms and shook him violently, Oliver groaned, going along with it. Palmer had a tendency to get very excited, and then forget his strength.

"Put me down, Scott." Oliver winked and Palmer let him go immediately.

"You never call me Scott." He'd mounted his broom again and was just kicking off before Oliver went to shake his hand.

"Thanks, mate. Really. I'll let you know when Hermione wants to go tux shopping."

"Ooh tuxes, no muggle robes?"

Oliver shook his head, smiling and made the gesture for Palmer to continue training.

* * *

Hermione had taken the afternoon off work, she hadn't been feeling too well recently so decided to take it easy since she got so much of her paperwork done the night before, when albeitly, she should have been with Oliver. She knew that now, but he understood that she worked long hours. She was curled up in her bed, with Whiskey comfortably lounging at the bottom of it, when Oliver and Harry came back home. Oliver had owled for Harry to go to the stadium, so that Oliver could formally ask him to be an usher at their wedding, along with Ron, Percy and Neville. A few other members from the Puddlemere team were in the groomsmen party too, but Oliver couldn't figure out what position they would have yet in the wedding. He knew it had to be just right, and it had to be someone that wouldn't screw it up on the day because a lot of important ministry and sporting people would be there - his coach had handed him a list of 30 people from the Quidditch world that he 'ought' to invite.

"Oh, Hermione must be home." Harry said, as he saw her keys on the counter in the hallway.

"She went home sick from work, she says it's the pregnancy but I thinks she's exhausting herself at work." Oliver replied, grabbing a bottle of juice from the fridge. He grabbed some juice for Hermione as well, and a few crackers from the cupboard, she needed to keep eating even if she felt sick.

"Sounds like Mione."

"Right, well I'm going to go check up on her." Oliver took the stairs two at a time, and pushed open Hermione's bedroom door with his knee. "Hey little one."

Hermione slowly opened her eyes and pushed her duvet aside, "Hey. You're home early?" She glanced at the clock and saw that it was actually 5.30 pm and he wasn't early at all. "Nevermind."

"How are you feeling?" He sat on her bed, after putting the bottle of juice and crackers on the bedside table closest to her. Whiskey moved and nuzzled his neck for attention.

"I feel a little better now I've had some sleep. Not amazing though."

"I know you, Hermione. Not amazing must be pretty shit."

She shrugged, "I've dealt with worse. Are Ron and Harry home yet?"

"Harry is and I imagine Ron will be home soon."

He got up to change out of his quidditch kit, putting the gear into his bag, but when he had gotten changed into sweats and a plain black tee, he noticed that Hermione was asleep again. Oliver quietly crept out of her room, making a mental note to tell her about Palmer later. Downstairs Harry was sat with a bottle of beer, and Ron had a glass of something orange and fizzy - probably one of the muggle drinks that Hermione had started to crave, Oliver wouldn't tell Hermione that Ron was drinking some of her Fanta.

"Hey guys." Oliver said, walking into the living room. "Hermione's out cold, Whiskey's asleep on her bed too."

"Who's cooking then?" Ron grinned, looking at the two boys, "Shotwand not me!"

"I vote we get take away. Chinese?"

* * *

The door bell rang and Ron jumped up, eager to get his food. He'd been craving a chinese all day, and thanked Merlin when Harry suggested it. When he opened the door, Gabrielle was stood there. "Sorry guys! It's Gabs not the chinese!" They both groaned and Ron laughed. Gabrielle wasn't laughing, in fact she had her big hold all rucksack on her back, and she wasn't in her interview clothes. She looked like she was going travelling. "Shit, um, Gabs come in."

She awkwardly smiled and stepped into the hallway, "I can't stop. But we've got to talk."

Ron stood in the hallway entrance, there was no point letting her into the house and sitting down at the kitchen table. "About what? You're scaring me.."

"I got offered a job today," Gabrielle's voice shook, it was clear that she was nervous, unsure of Ron's response. "And it iz a really amazing experience for me, in one of St. Mungo's partner hopitals. I would be a full time healer on a children's ward, with the opportunities for promotions and the like."

"That's amazing!" He went to hug her, kiss her, but she drew back quickly.

"No. It iz not.. Well not for us, zis hopital is in Paris. They want me to leave tonight, so I can start right away tomorrow morning."

Ron felt like his world was crashing down around him, he didn't know what he was going to do without Gabrielle. Had he done something wrong? Did she not see a future for them?

"I've accepted the job, so I'm going to leave London, Ron. You have to understand that Paris is my home, I left most of my friends, my family to come to London, and whilst you, and your friends have all welcomed me, this isn't home. Zis isn't where I belong."

Ron couldn't muster words, there was nothing he could think to say that would make any of this alright. He must've been stood in shock for some time, because the next thing he heard was the front door shutting. Gabrielle had left. He quickly pulled open the door and ran down the front path and onto the street, he screamed her name, but he couldn't see anything. It was dark, cold and raining. The perfect weather for Ron's emotions. He slumped to the pavement, sitting by the gate to his house. "She's gone." He mumbled to himself.

Harry stood in the doorway, looking out for Ron. "Mate.." He sighed, walking down the path, Ron was still slumped against the gate, his clothes were sodden and his ginger mess of hair was sticking to his forehead. "What happened?" Harry pulled open the gate, careful to prop Ron up whilst doing so. He then took a seat on the pavement next to his best friend. They'd been through a lot together recently, but if you can't count on someone in your worst of times, then you might as well let them go.

"She's gone."

"Gone where?"

"Paris." He uttered the word like it was some foul smell, something that made him feel sick or pained. The thought of Gabrielle not being around did make Ron feel sick and pained, so the intonation of his words wasn't too far off.

"How long for?"

"Indefinitely." He sighed, he probably should explain to Harry what was going on, however hurt he was by the whole situation. "She got a job, full time healer on a children's ward for one of St. Mungo's partner hospitals."

"Ron.. Come on, let's get you inside. Hot shower, some Chinese." Harry looked at the soggy bag, casting a quick charm. It was fresh again. "We could watch a bond film if you like?"

Ron nodded solemnly, "Alright then."

Hermione and Oliver were stood in the hallway, Hermione all ready to play the doting mother card. "Come on Ron, I've put out a fresh towel and some clothes for you." Whiskey was stood by her leg, but she went bounding across to Ron as soon as she saw him, she nuzzled affectionately at his thigh and he mustered a smile.

"Here girl." He gave her a treat from his pocket and sloathed upstairs, leaving Harry to explain where Gabrielle had gone.


	32. Chapter 32

"I don't want to.." Ron groaned, as Hermione opened the large drapes in his room. As she pushed the dark grey curtains aside sunlight flooded into his room, bathing the walls in warm spring colours - slowly the temperatures were rising and the wildlife in London was starting to wake up from a cold winter. Ron preferred it when the rain was lashing at his windows and everyone else looked as miserable as he did. It had been ten days since Gabrielle had let for Paris and he was fed up, he was fed up with seeing her W feed, so much so that he unfriended her on it. Then he purged his whole life of things that reminded him of her, he was about to burn all the photographs he had of Gabrielle before Harry and Hermione stepped in, taking the photos and putting them in a locked box - she might come back one day and then he would have regretted his decision. Yet he still found he couldn't walk past her favourite coffee shop, or take the shortcut through Hyde Park on his way to work. Hyde park was one of Gabrielle's favourite places, she had at least two books hidden away there and everything about the place reminded him of her.

"Well, Ronald, it'd be lovely if we could lounge around in our beds all day when something bad happened. But we can't." Her well spoken manor and properly enunciated words pissed Ron off. Really pissed Ron off. "Now get up, get showered, breakfast is downstairs and then you need to go to work."

"I'll call in sick."

"You did that yesterday, and the day before. Look," she sat at the edge of his bed, resting her hand on her slightly rounded stomach, "I know you're hurting. I know that you really cared for Gabrielle, and the fact that she just upped and left was heartbreaking for you. But you have to get on with your life, there are plenty of people out there. It's a big wide world."

He rolled his eyes, but secretly he was glad of the sentiment. Hermione always knew what to say, she was going to make an amazing mother. "Fine. Can you put some coffee on please?"

Hermione grinned, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Of course, and then I'm off to work. I probably won't see you until later tonight, I've got a meeting with my department, hopefully it doesn't run too late but you never know with these things."

"I thought we were all going to travel to Hogshead tonight? You can't bail on Luna.." Ron said, looking surprised. It was Luna's baby shower this weekend, a very american and very muggle concept, but Luna had recently travelled to the states on business and had come home with a head full of ideas. Including a baby shower. Neville, as Neville always did, just played along with it, he doted on his wife, and he always would. She could do no wrong in his eyes.

"I'm still going! I'm god mother for Merlin's sake, but it all depends how late I get out of this meeting, as to what time I make it up to Hogsmeade. Oilver has said that he'll wait for me so that we can go up together, but I think he's still worrying that I'm overdoing it." Hermione was stood at Ron's door, she rolled her eyes as soon as she mentioned Oliver and his worrying.

"We're all worried about you." Ron said sincerely, swinging his legs out of bed. Hermione quickly covered her eyes when she saw that Ron was only wearing boxers, she really would never get used to that sight.

"You have no need to be worried. None of you do. Now I'm off to work, I will see you later. And remember Ronald, I will know if you've called a sickie."

* * *

Harry walked up to Draco's secretary, smiling. "Hi, is he in?" He said politely, the girl behind the desk knew who Harry was so she buzzed him through straight away. Harry always found it weird that she never spoke to him, but he shrugged it off. People were funny after the war, you never knew someone else's story.

Draco was sat in his tall back leather chair, a laptop out on his desk, one mug of green tea and a couple of sheets of parchment, along with one quill. That was it. The desk would happily take much more clutter, but Draco liked clean lines, professionalism. It always made Harry smile, there were 4 large print photographs on the wall, framed in a matte black wood. Draco had taken the photographs himself, there was one of Harry and Scorpius, sat on the floor in Draco's living room, Scorpius was looking up at Harry with complete love and adoration, whilst Harry was sat making a funny face. They were both at ease, in their natural habitat so to speak. Another of the photographs hung on the wall was Harry on his own, dressed in a sharp navy slim suit; they had attended some charity gala, and the photograph showed Harry leaning against the bar, one foot tucked behind the other, surveying the dance floor. He had no idea the photograph was being taken, but Draco was quite good at that. Becoming incognito once he had his camera out. One of the other photographs was a picture of Hogwarts at dusk, and the other was an arty shot of London that Draco had fallen in love with as soon as he'd taken it.

"What are you thinking about?" Draco smiled, shutting his laptop down. He raised an eyebrow at his boyfriend, who was stood, staring at the wall.

"The photographs. They sum up your life, don't they? Aside from your friends and the rest of your family, this really sums you up perfectly."

"I think that's a compliment..?" Draco joked, getting up and taking his over jacket from the stand by the door. He slipped it on over his pinstriped suit jacket, but didn't put his arms through the sleeves. "Ready for lunch, babe?"

"Mhm. I'm so hungry, I went for a run earlier. First one in a while." Harry smiled, pleased with himself, pleased with the familiar ache of his muscles. Draco opened up the door and Harry walked through it, nodding to the secretary, she once again smiled and nodded but didn't say a word. Draco handed her the key to his office and she tucked it away into a pouch.

"I'll see you on Monday, Sara. Take the afternoon off, I won't be back into the office."

It looked like she was about to protest, but Draco snatched up the silk pouch from her hand, took his large A4 leather bound diary and her quill, grinning at her. "Go home. Surprise Derek."

And then they were gone, walking out of the Ministry building, a whirl and hum drum of people and memo's flying around the archaic building. It was the midday rush of a Friday, people desperate to get their work done so they could actually head home for 5 pm. Unlike Hermione and her department who were avidly working through the day, hoping the meeting wouldn't go on too long.

"Sara, she doesn't talk much?" Harry enquired, slipping his hand into Draco's - forever bewildered by how well their hands fit together, the easy interlocking of their fingers, and the way that Draco would gently rub his thumb against the back of Harry's hand, a sweet and calming gesture. It was almost second nature to Draco, he'd always done it to Scorpius too, when he was cradling him as a small child, and now, when he held his hand on the way to nursery, or into the city.

"Most of her family were killed in the war, her parents, her siblings, her twin brother. She doesn't talk much because she's in a constant state of denial. I guess that's the word."

"Who is Derek then? I presume her boyfriend?"

"Mhm, husband. I was their witness at the wedding. There was the officiator and me. I didn't go to the reception because I had to go for Scorpius, but I know that her friends and what remains of her family attended that."

"Wow, you and her are close then?"

Draco shrugged, using his spare hand to push his hair back. "I guess you could say that. She trusts me. And I know that's hard for her, so I treat her well. She has good and bad days, but she's a sweet girl. Just a little bit lost. I know that Ron met her on a bad day a while back, which was quite entertaining for me." Draco smirked, looking at a few restaurant menu's on their walk.

"Ron could make anyone have a bad day at the moment. I know Gabs is gone, but it's getting ridiculous. He's like one of those cringy teenagers in films, so over the top it's untrue. Eating ice cream by the bucket load."

"He needs to break out of his rut! Why don't you bring him running with you? He'll need to keep his fitness up if he wants to pass the auror medical anyway."

"That's not a bad idea actually.." Harry mused it over, letting Draco lead him into a restaurant. It was sleek and elegant, the tables far enough apart for them to be able to comfortably talk without someone overhearing. The other cliental matched Draco's attire: all business, and no fun. Little did people know how much fun Draco could be sometimes. "So you've taken the whole afternoon off work?"

"Well.. Scorpius is at pre-school until 4.30, and the house will be free.. So I thought we could have lunch and then have a little alone time?" Draco was sat across from Harry, his face implying almost as much as his suggestive words.

"I'm down for that." Harry grinned, biting his lip.

* * *

"We've got to get up and get ready Draco.." Harry was laying on his front in Draco's bed, drawing little patterns on his boyfriend's shoulder. Draco was laying on his side with his back to Harry, desperately hoping he could sleep for five more minutes.

"I don't wanna.." He mumbled, rolling over to face Harry. "Do you think if we just don't think about the time, then time won't pass?"

"Wow. What an intelligent thing to say." Harry mocked, sticking his tongue out. Draco's face fell, like he was hurt by what Harry had said, but Harry knew that he was playing around so merely ignored him. "You're really not going to fool me with that." Harry looked at the time, "Shit, Draco. We need to go get Scorpius!"

"You're fucking kidding, what time is it?!" Draco jumped out of bed, running to the bathroom to shower off.

"It's quarter past four, we're going to have to run to get him."

They showered quickly, even Draco managed to not get distracted, which was a feat in itself. Ten minutes later the two men were dressed and running out of the front door, awkwardly having to run past Mrs. Walters - she had lots of questions she was dying to ask, but they just did not have the time. "Shit, we forgot to pack for Luna and Neville's!"

"Right. You go get Scorpius, and some food for the journey, I'll pack and then we should be ready to get the six pm train with the others." Draco laid out the plan, quickly kissed Harry on the lips and ran in the other direction to Harry, going back to his townhouse.

Harry finally made it to Scorp's pre school, walking into the old townhouse type building and going to the main reception. "Hey, I'm here to pick up Scorpius Malfoy."

The young-ish man behind the desk smiled and raised an eyebrow, "Name please."

"Harry Potter, my details should be in the system, I've collected Scorp before."

"Ah yes, sorry. We've had issues in the past with people collecting children who aren't theirs, and we obviously can't risk it with Master Malfoy."

Harry was so tempted to roll his eyes, the child was nearly 3 years old, it seemed ridiculous that he was referred to as 'Master Malfoy', but then Scorpius did attend the most expensive pre school in wizarding London. Most of the children were being collected by their nanny's or their grandparents, never their parents - they were all 'far too busy.' Scorpius came running out with his little backpack on, and his thick rain coat.

"Hey little guy!" Harry opened up his eyes and scooped up Scorpius.

"Hey Harryyy!" Scorpius giggled as Harry picked him up onto his shoulders.

"Hold on tight little guy! We're running home today!" Harry ran out of the building, pretending he was a broomstick as he ran down the streets to the house.

* * *

Hermione was still not home by 8 pm that evening, the rest of their group had left on the earlier train but Oliver was still sat in their lounge, patiently waiting for Hermione to come home. Even he could admit that it was getting ridiculous by now. He would never get to Luna and Neville's in time for dinner at this rate, which would just be rude. He liked to think he was a patient person, and he understood that Hermione was busy at work, but he wasn't rude - she certainly wasn't rude. So he made the decision alone, he scribbled a quick note to Hermione explaining where he was and then jumped into the fireplace, flooing to Neville and Luna's.

As he tumbled into the living room he could hear chatter and laughter from the kitchen, Neville, Luna, Seamus, Michael, Harry, Draco, Ginny, Ron. Oliver dusted off his clothing and placed his leather over night bag at the foot of the stairs, then wandered into the kitchen. "I know I'm late, and missing a certain Hermione, but is there room for me?"

Luna got up slowly, holding onto the table. She smiled at him, "Of course there is." She hugged him briefly and he hugged back, grabbing a chair from where Luna pointed.

Ron piped up as soon as Oliver was sat down, with some food. "Where is Hermione?"

"Work." Oliver muttered, giving Ron a look as if to say 'end-of-discussion.' "Where's Scorpius?"

"Oh, we put him down for bed about an hour ago. Travelling always takes it out of him, understandably." Draco said, turning to talk to Oliver whilst everyone else carried on their conversations. "Are you alright, Wood?"

"Not really." He mumbled, stabbing at his food. It was amazing, as per usual. But he just didn't feel hungry. "I'm tired of her putting work before everything else. It's okay that she puts work before me, I knew that that would happen from the start. But she's carrying our child, I didn't think Hermione would put work before our baby. That's just crazy. It's like she can either be 'Ministry official of the year' or 'parent of the year' - but she can't be both."

"I feel like that. With Scorpius. I'm not there for him all the time and that kills me, it worries me that we won't have a tight bond as he grows up, and then anything could happen once he leaves for Hogwarts. I'm so busy at work that I won't see him for two or three days at a time, Scorpius will only see Harry." Draco sighed, sipping at his wine.

"I don't see why you don't just cut back your hours at work?"

"I am, gradually. I'm building together a team that I can trust, and once Scorpius turns four I'm going to make sure that I have a deputy Minister for Education. It's pretty rare in the Ministry to deputise, but I want to have someone there that can lessen my work load. Perhaps you could suggest that to Hermione? She's going to have to find someone to cover her maternity anyway."

"Yeah! Maybe they could cover for her whilst she's off with the baby, and then continue on as her Deputy when she returns.. We've already talked about it, and I'm going to take the majority of time off when the baby is first born. But it's international season, and the reserve keeper needs some matches, so I can easily captain from the sidelines."

"Do you want to owl Hermione? Find out when she's coming up?"

Oliver nodded, dinner had come to an end anyway, so he knew that they wouldn't mind if he excused himself for a few minutes. Just as he was owling Hermione, there was a knock at the door. Neville gave Oliver the all clear to open it, and when he did, he was surprised to see Hermione stood there.


	33. Chapter 33

I broke the 3,000 barrier! I feel like this chapter is too long, and I've rambled, but on the other hand it's my favourite chapter so far.. Let me know what you think with a review :)

* * *

"Oliver.." Hermione stood on the doorstep, stunned to see him open the door. She was still dressed in her work clothes, the ministry pin glaring. A constant reminder that work came first. She had her bag at her feet, the sun had set far earlier in the evening, but there was still an ember of light in the sky, burning the dark blue horizons. Oliver, if he hadn't been so angry, would've marvelled in how beautiful she looked in that moment. Disheveled, tired, stressed. But beautiful none the less. However, he was angry. And nothing could stop him.

"Did you not expect to see me?" He spat out, the words sounded bitter and painful. He didn't intend for them to sound so cruel, so accusatory, but they did. It was too late.

"To be frank, no. This isn't your house. Generally, the occupants of the house open the front door." She spoke calmly, matter of factly. It felt like a knife in his back, of course she argued coldly, with fact. Of course she didn't bring emotion into this.

"I was up from the table, they were busy entertaining their guests. At dinner. A certain dinner that we should have been out hours ago, Merlin, that you should've at least shown up to!"

"I was at work! You knew that. Sometimes meetings just take longer."

"Hermione, I get that. But it's Friday night. We're godparents to Neville and Luna's baby, and this weekend is all about welcoming that baby into the world - into a world where it is loved and safe, and cherished. But apparently work comes first." Oliver hadn't even let her in yet, he was stood in the hallway becoming more and more pissed off. She couldn't use the excuse 'work' for much longer.

"What did you expect me to do?" She shouted, later making a mental note to not shout at a Scotsman.

"END THE MEETING. PICK IT UP AGAIN ON MONDAY." He took a deep breath and reassessed the situation, "You, Hermione Granger, are head of your department. The meeting was a department meeting. You tell everyone at that meeting, what to do. Hence, you could've said 'let's end it there guys, pick it up again on Monday'. They probably would've been grateful, who schedules meetings for 4 pm on a Friday?!"

"Oliver, what are you mad about? The meeting, or us?" Hermione was close to tears at this point, her hormones were all over the place, but they'd never argued like this. She just couldn't understand what was going on inside his head.

"I'm mad that you put work before anything, and right now. In this very moment, you're putting work before your health, before our baby's health and before our relationship. I'm not even mad about you putting work before me - I accepted that a long time ago." He took another deep breath, as if he was pulling himself back, making sure he didn't say the wrong thing. He still loved her, he still wanted to be with her, he was just mad. "So no, I'm not mad about the meeting."

"How dare you say that to me? How dare you accuse me of working so much that I don't care about this baby?"

"Hermione.. You work 80, or 90 hour weeks.. Can't you see how ridiculous that is?"

"I have a department to run, people are depending on me. You don't get it. I want to be Minister for Magic by the time I'm 40, I'm not going to do that if I don't work my hardest."

"Your hardest doesn't have to exhaust you.. Get an assistant, or a deputy. Get someone who is solely there for you to unload your work onto."

"Fine. I'll start appointing for an assistant when I get back."

"Then can we go to your healer and ask how many hours you should be working, maximum? I know you'd be devastated if something you had done affected the baby."

She took a deep breath, looking up at him. Hermione knew exactly what the healer would say, the healer would tell her to cut back to a 50 hour week, max - her department was the best department in the ministry, and if she dropped down to 50 hours a week, her department would start to slack. But Oliver was right, she wasn't looking after herself or the baby. "Okay."

* * *

The next morning Hermione was up early, making sure to be out of the house before Oliver had even woken up. They were renting a house for the weekend along with Draco, Harry, Ron and Ginny. Draco and Harry were sat at the kitchen table reading different articles and grazing over a selection of foods; Scorpius was sat in his highchair trying to lick a bowl of porridge clean - much to Draco's dismay.

"Morning Hermione!" Harry called out, but the only response he got was a slammed front door. "Merlin.. What's got her hippogriff?"

Draco rolled his eyes, "Did you not hear those two fighting in the hallway at Neville and Luna's last night?"

"I wasn't aware of anything.. no.. What were they fighting about?"

"Hermione working too much, I believe. Wood was talking to me about it before she arrived."

At this moment, Oliver and Ron stumbled into the kitchen, and the couple's conversation ceased. It quickly moved onto Ron, and the drool on his face.

"You know Ron, this food is for you too. So why don't you pull up a chair and actually eat it mate?" Harry laughed, kicking a chair out for him.

"Have you guys seen Hermione?" Oliver mumbled, eating a piece of toast whilst leaning against the counter top. Draco and Harry quickly shared a glance, trying to talk to each other without actually opening their mouths.

"We heard her slam the door.." Draco said - it was the first time that Harry had actually seen him look humble. It was bizarre. Alas, no sooner had Draco spoken, then Oliver had left the house and slammed the door. Ron looked up with his mouthful of food, he looked worse than Scorpius.

"Wait, what did I miss?"

"Merlins beard," Draco rolled his eyes, "You're as bad as Harry."

(( LINE BREAK ))

Finally, 2 pm rolled around, and the baby shower had begun. Hermione had gone over in the morning to apologise and help them set up, hence forth why the house looked so beautiful. Neville had done all of the cooking/baking, and Luna had rested up. She was so ready to pop that any sort of physical exertion was painful for her, but Hermione was more than happy to help out. They still didn't know what gender the baby would be, so they had a theme of bright colours, except for pink / blue.

On arrival there was a big basket on a table for gifts, and then an empty book shelf to the right of that. Neville and Luna had requested that they didn't receive cards, instead people could get them books for the baby with little messages in them - this way they had a big variety of books, and a cute memory from all of their friends and family. Hermione had shrunken the furniture and packaged it upstairs, so there was lots of space in the living room, dining room and kitchen. People wouldn't be able to go outside as the weather was so cold and foul, but it was February..

In the living room there was a big oak table, in a shabby chic white style, the table had assorted canapés and miniature pasties on it, along with cucumber sandwiches, pumpkin pies, treacle tarts and mint humbugs. There were little brown paper envelopes and cards flying around - which guests were invited to write bits of advice for Luna and Neville, or write messages for the baby to open in years to come. Then in the kitchen there were two big jars full of mocktails, and another full of hot chocolate, as well as a little chalk board for you to cast your vote to see if the baby was going to be a boy or a girl.

Luna looked beautiful in colour changing wizarding robes, only Hermione knew that she was wearing a onesie underneath, and her husband wore a white shirt and black dress pants with a colour changing tie.

"Quick quick! I'll get a photo of the two of you before everyone else arrives!" Hermione pulled out her camera from her bag and took a photo, and an extra one for good measure. She'd never seen such a happy couple, they were positively glowing, and she knew she had that with Oliver, it was just hiding at the moment.

Soon the guests started spilling through the front door, first came Micheal and Seamus, then Professor McGonnogal and Professor Sprout along with a few others from the teaching body. Then Ginny, Ron, Oliver, Harry and Draco arrived. Oliver looked like he'd been outside all morning, his skin seemed darker, his beard had grown out a little and his hair definitely seemed much more wayward than Hermione had ever seen it. _Perhaps he's been out flying_ , she thought to herself. Luna's father arrived around 3 pm, at a similar time to Katie Bell and her fiancé, followed shortly by Dean Thomas. Sadly though, Dean never seemed to be able to take his mind off the Fallen 50, so generally seemed occupied within his own head. Neville encouraged him with conversation, and Ron hugged him tight when he saw him.

* * *

Michael, Hermione and Seamus were tucked away in a corner, chatting about life in general. They were coming up to London soon, so Hermione promised she'd make time to see them.

"You an Wood are still together, aye?" Seamus said, eager to find out what was happening with the two of them. Hermione saw Michael grip his wrist, perhaps motioning for him to soften his technique of enquiry.

"Oh yes, yeah we're still together." Her hand instinctively rested on her stomach and she knew it was the wrong thing to do, Michael and Seamus picked up on it right away. They had been travelling for the past few months, across the plains of Africa, finally settling in the wizarding borough of Marrakesh. They wouldn't have heard the news, and she forgot to tell them. Or omitted it. Probably the latter.

"You're fecking pregnant?!" Seamus tried to keep his voice low but he just couldn't.

"Seamus, you're embarrassing yourself." Michael scorned, rolling his eyes. "Apologies, Hermione. We just weren't aware that you even wanted children so soon?"

She shrugged, "I guess, neither was I. But it just sort of happened. Don't get me wrong, I'm over the moon. I just don't know how me or Oliver will cope." Hermione sighed, gently rubbing her little bump. "We're in a rocky place."

Michael shuffled so he was sat by Hermione, pulling her into a bear hug. He smelt like Oliver, and she realised how much she needed to patch it up with him. He was her rock, as cheesy as it was to say it. "Thank you Michael." As Michael let her go, she made eye contact with Oliver from across the room. He'd brought their gift with him, two separate 'survival kits' for Luna and Neville, for when they needed it the most. They'd also gotten two books for the baby, one from Hermione's childhood and one from Olivers. Hermione had decided upon Winnie the Pooh, a favourite of hers growing up, and Oliver had gone for a rare edition of Beedle the Bard, before the name was changed, and it was called Weedle the Bard - the name got changed a few years later as it wasn't catchy enough.

The bookshelf had filled up by now, and the party was in full swing, most people voting for Luna to have a boy, rather than a girl. Harry had smiled when he'd seen the mint humbugs, popping one into his mouth, even though he'd grown to hate them in his adulthood. Neville, Harry and Ron were stood in the kitchen, looking at the chalk board.

"Well I think it's going to be a boy, for sure." Ron said, "Dunno though, Mum always said it had something to do with how the bump was. But I don't really get that stuff."

"If you're carrying low it's supposedly a boy, but if you're carrying high then it's a girl." Neville replied automatically, as if reading from a script.

"Woah, been reading a few parenting books Nev?" Harry laughed, finishing off his mocktail.

"Hundreds. I can't mess this up and try again, it's like mandrakes. Babies need you to look after them just right."

"They're also made of tough stuff mate, Mum raised 7 of us, and we all got dropped a few times, but we survived." And then Harry saw Ron's face fall, he was thinking about Fred. Not all of the Weasley children survived.

"Sooo, have you thought of many names for the Longbottom-Lovegood child?" Harry quickly moved the conversation on.

"Luna liked Lilius.. But I told her that the child cannot have a name that starts with L. It is just not happening."

Ron smirked, "Lilius Longbottom-Lovegood? Was Luna thinking that one through?"

"Well, Luna is a Longbottom-Lovegood, but she does admit that it's a bit of a mouthful. I like the name Katherine, or Kat maybe?"

"Mm, wasn't there a Kat in our year at school?" Ron looked puzzled, trying to remember her face.

"Yeah, Kat Quince. She was one of the fallen fifty.." Neville said quietly, "I think her and Hannah Abbott were quite close, from what I remember. She was definitely a hufflepuff."

Harry was slowly reminded as to why the three of them had kept to themselves for the past few years, why they hadn't gone to social gatherings or strayed much further than their four walls. Every conversation, every person, they were tainted with loss. And rightly so, the dead should be remembered, but not so much that the living could not live.

* * *

Neville and Luna were circulating the party well, even Luna who was struggling with back pain and exhaustion. Neville gently rubbed her back, and supported her whilst they spoke to different people. Professor Sprout came from the dining room, holding a platter of food, and grinned when she saw the couple.

"Neville! My boy!" She was very protective of Neville, her apprentice. Even though he was a fully fledged professor now, she still gave him hints and tips in the classroom. Or the greenhouse, rather. It was nearing the end of the February half term break, so Sprout hadn't seen Neville in a week or so. "How are you both?"

"Excellent, thank you, Pomona. Luna is having a lot of back pain but you're keeping in good spirits aren't you?" Luna smiled and nodded, really wishing she could just go and sit down. She loved Professor Sprout, but she could talk for ages. "How was your break?" Neville spoke with much more clarity and enunciation than he usually would, for Professor Sprout's hearing was not what it used to be.

"Oh marvellous, I updated the store cupboard records and managed to pot off the Snargaluffs. They were feisty though, what compost did you use?"

Neville had to think back to August of last year, which was difficult for his memory. "I'm not sure, but I have it written down back at the school. I'll be able to tell you once we get back."

"Oh not a bother, dear. Just wondered. Anyways, Luna. I know a few remedies which you could try for the back pain? I can't imagine you've got long to go now."

"About two weeks if I'm lucky, Pomona." She smiled, leaning against the side of a bookshelf, it offered a little relief, and she was certain that Sprout wouldn't mind.

"Ah, well I'll give some Murtlap leaves to Neville from the greenhouse. The tentacles of Murtlaps are used to make Murtlap essence, you know the one that helps with cuts and bruises, but I swear on Dumbledore's life that the leaves, crushed down and boiled in tea, help with muscle pain. Always worth a try, eh?"

Luna nodded, "I'll try anything at this point."

"Are you sure you don't want to go rest up? I'm sure no one here will mind." Neville kissed her forehead as she quietly slunk away from the party and up the staircase to their room.

"Poor girl, she really is struggling."

"Yeah. But not long to go now.. Hey, I didn't even realise we had any Murtlap plants left."

"Oh I always keep one or two, to keep the first aid kit stocked up."

Neville smiled, Professor Sprout was quite the lady.

* * *

"Good to see you Professor." Oliver nodded, as he bumped into McGonnogal at the baby guessing chalk board. She drew a line on both sides. "I believe that's cheating, though."

"What if I think they'll have twins?"

"Good call. How are you, anyways?" Oliver chalked up a line on the boy side.

"Fine thank you, struggling to find a captain for Gryffindor though, their current one is out for the season."

"What? Captains of Gryffindor are not allowed to be out for a season!"

"They are when they're in their NEWT year and they're failing. My orders." She gave him the look that withered him when he was back at school - he withered again.

"Aye yes of course. Well I could come down and drum up some takers, maybe if I lead a training session, they could realise where captaincy could take them?"

"How very generous of you Wood. Clearly Hermione is a good influence on you."

"You know about me and Hermione?"

She laughed, raising her eyebrows at him. "Everyone knows about you and Miss Granger, Wood. Aside from the fact that it's as obvious as a dragon egg, it's plastered all over the papers."

"You've never read those papers."

"People leave them around in the staff room, I see the front pages, you have a habit of gracing the front and the back page."

Oliver shrugged it off, he'd suddenly caught Hermione's eye from across the room again, for the third time in an hour. She had her hand resting on her stomach, and as soon as she caught Oliver's eye she blushed and looked down at her heels, but she looked up again, keeping his eye this time, because she was stubborn like that, but he loved her for it. He loved everything about her, even her willingness to work too hard. "You're right, she is good for me."


	34. Chapter 34

Welp, sorry for not updating ! I've been away, but I'm back now. I want to dedicate this chapter to Warriors, because you really made me smile, and I would not have written this chapter if it weren't for you. So thank you.

* * *

 **Wednesday 22nd February 2004**

They'd been home a couple of days, but tension was still in the air between Hermione and Oliver. You could sense it at dinner, when Oliver left in the evening - instead of staying over. Neither one of them had brought it up but Harry and Ron had noticed it and they were starting to get annoyed that the couple hadn't showed any signs of clearing the mess up. Both of them were too stubborn, and too busy to sit down and have a proper conversation. Hermione had however made an appointment with Healer Montgomery, and her new midwife.

She'd finally gotten an owl at work to inform her that a midwife would be on hand at the birth and a couple of appointments in her last trimester, Hermione was grateful that someone she could rely on would be there - someone that had good old fashioned training and didn't need a wand or a spell to sort everything out. It reminded her of her mother, how easily she would've been able to sort things out. Everyone in the wizarding world relied heavily on magic, and seemed astounded that muggle's could even go about their daily lives .. sometimes Hermione missed the simplicity of washing a pot, or sending a letter: with a postage stamp, like normal, regular people.

"Harry! Ron!" Hermione called out, as she stepped through her front door that evening. She hoped, selfishly, that no one was home; she wanted an hour alone to watch some crappy muggle television, sit in her sweats and nurse the tub of ice cream she'd bought on her walk back home through the city. Officially she was entering her second trimester, and all she kept hearing at work from the other women in the office was how she'd gotten away with not having many symptoms so far. What little morning sickness she had, had come and go quickly, she'd not felt any muscle aches or tenderness anywhere.

No one replied to her shouting, and their coats or shoes weren't anywhere to be seen in the hallway, so she shrugged her thick overcoat off, hung it up and flopped onto the sofa. Ten minutes later she blinked her eyes open slowly to find she'd been asleep, but thankfully not for long. She knew she hadn't been sleeping well, but her nightmares had returned now that Oliver didn't stay the night as much. Staying at his was an option, but she always felt on edge in his apartment - it was a bachelor pad, and Hermione hated to think how many women had slept in his bed. He assured her it was under 50, but she knew the magic rule: 'divide by two and add 10' to the actual number it was. Oliver wasn't the sort of guy to have notches in his bed post, but Hermione knew he was the sort of guy to boast about his conquests to the guys on the team.

A new episode of 'Friends' was just starting when she heard the front door click open and shut again, she was wearing over sized grey sweat pants and a loose cotton tee - the fire was lit, so there was no reason for her to feel cold. Even if she kept randomly getting shudders, followed by involuntary cold sweats. Harry walked into the lounge, smiling at the sight of her with a spoon and an almost finished tub of chocolate ice cream.

"You look comfy, good day at the office?" Harry teased, unaware that she had actually been at the Ministry for 6 am - just so that she could leave at 4. She'd worked right through lunch as well, even though her new assistant seemed to disapprove. He'd gone out for lunch and come back with a chicken teriyaki salad and anti-oxidant fruit shake for her, but it was still sitting on her coffee table in the office when she'd left that evening. It was thoughtful of him, and it did sound good but she had too much work, and not enough appetite.

"I worked earlies, managed to be in the office before Kingsley." Hermione replied, watching Harry remove his jacket and leather Chelsea boots.

"How early?" His tone had changed, along with his expression. She wasn't looking after herself, her relationship was still on the rocks, and he wasn't impressed. If Oliver was going to brood, or do whatever he was doing, then someone needed to step in before she ended up in hospital.

Hermione bit her lip and closed one eye, as if to avoid the verbal lashing that Harry was about to give her. "6 am." The words tumbled out of her mouth quickly and she grabbed a pillow to hide behind, it was better than seeing the disappointed look on Harry's face.

"6 am? It takes you twenty minutes to get to work, thirty minutes to get ready.. So you were up at 5 am, and I know for a fact that you and Ron stayed up late watching some of that murder mystery crap you two like. Hermione you're not sleeping properly, or eating properly." He sighed, taking a seat next to her on the couch. "You know you need to take better care of yourself.."

Something inside Hermione snapped, how dare he tell her how to run her life - he wasn't her keeper, or her dad. She didn't need either of those things, and she certainly didn't need it from someone she'd been looking after for the past ten years!

"Don't you dare tell me what I should and shouldn't be doing! I worked early today so I could come home early and sit on the sofa, giving myself some TLC. Because I realise I need it - but I still need to complete ten hour working days! So thank you Harry, for your incredible maternity advice, I'm aware that you have been pregnant before therefore know exactly what advice is good advice." Her words dripped with sarcasm as she stood up, looked around and grabbed the remote - childishly stopping him from watching the tv, or even turning it off. Two minutes later and she was in her room, sat on the floor giggling to herself about how funny the whole situation was - Harry, giving her advice on _her_ baby.

* * *

"FUCK!" She uttered louder than intended, as she tripped over something on her way down the stairs - she managed to grab onto the banister just in time, but it didn't stop her stomach from lurching in fear. Harry and Ron, who were sat on the sofa, heard her straight away.

"You ok Mione?" Ron called up, before going to see what the problem was when he didn't hear a reply. Harry followed him out into the hallway where Hermione was sat at the bottom of the staircase, trying to get her trainers on.

"Can one of you two idiots get me to St. Mungo's, right now? Get a taxi or something - please no magic." She was shaking as her fingers tried to tie the bows on her shoes, the boys knew something was wrong right away. Harry ran out onto the street, checking to see if there were any black cabs, before running to the telephone box and dialling for a cab.

"Harry's just getting a taxi, Mione what's happening?" Ron said breathlessly, watching Hermione grow paler and paler.

"I'm bleeding." She mumbled, tears rolling down her face now. Harry motioned to Ron that the cab had pulled up.

"Do you think you can walk?"

She nodded, pulling herself up, to fall right back down. He quickly ran forward and scooped her up, finding some unknown strength from somewhere. She lay limp in his arms as he pulled the front door shut and ran down the path to the iconic black cab, both boys managed to negotiate getting into the cab, and telling the driver where they needed to be. Ron even managed to not marvel at the payphone bolted to the inside of the taxi, he was way more concerned for Hermione.

"Come on, stick with us. Keep your eyes open. We're almost there. Come on." Harry held her hand, urging her to stay awake. "Don't you dare let go, not now. Your baby needs you."

She kept blinking, fighting the overwhelming need to go to sleep. As she lay, curled up in Ron's arms, she knew she'd lost the baby, there was no way she could be bleeding and everything be okay. Maybe she should've read more books, she had no idea what was going on right now - obviously she knew the normal symptoms of pregnancy, the ones she'd seen on tv or in films. But she was ashamed to admit she'd not bought one pregnancy book, or kept track of what was happening with the little jelly bean that was growing inside of her. The people around her were right, she wasn't taking care of herself and now because of her idiocy she was going to lose her and Ollie's baby.

"Where's Ollie?" She mumbled, completely disorientated.

"He'll be here soon, I promise." Harry squeezed her hand, trying to reassure her. He had no idea where Oliver was, and could only send an owl once they got to St. Mungos, so he continued to lie to Hermione - to keep her hopeful.

* * *

Oliver came running down the corridor, as he skidded up to the private ward he pushed the door open and saw Ron and Harry sat on two chairs outside of a closed door. "Is she in there?" His whole world had stopped when he got the owl, it felt like time was moving two times slower. Minutes felt like hours, seconds felt like days when he didn't know if Hermione was okay. He clicked the handle down on the door, walking into her hospital room. As a couple they needed to stop frequenting this place, hopefully their baby didn't have the same habits.

She was sleeping, with an IV tube poking into her skin, and two healers fussing over her. One of them was Healer Montgomery - who as per usual looked annoyed to see Oliver.

"How is she? What happened? How's the baby?" He quickly fired off questions, not stopping to ask who the woman was.

Healer Montgomery passed the tube and the needle onto the woman stood next to him, and turned to face Oliver. "She's had a small bleed, but it's okay. She's stable now, and the foetus seems completely unharmed by the ordeal. Unusual, but not impossible. Miss Granger has been putting her body under intense stress, causing her body to give her warning signs that she needs to look out for herself. I can presume that she was probably ignoring the earlier signs, such as the sweats and the fatigue. I recommend we keep her for 1-2 days, and then she returns home, but does not return to work for a full week. I'll let you manage that, though." The man almost looked pleased to give Oliver the impossible task of keeping Hermione from work, but the younger man shrugged it off. He knew Montgomery didn't like him.

Finally they both left the room, and Oliver was able to sit by her bed, holding her hand. She'd never looked so weak, so small. Her skin was paler than ever and all of the tubes poking in and out of her made her look inhuman, if that was possible. His mind started to run away with him and he couldn't forgive himself for how distant he'd been. He'd abandoned the mother of his child, his fianceé when she need him the most. The thought brought tears to his eyes, which he couldn't stop from falling and hitting Hermione's porcelain skin. The feel of something dripping against her skin gently brought Hermione to, and as she slowly opened her eyes she saw Oliver sat by her bedside. Harry hadn't been lying when he'd said that Oliver was on his way - he was right there in front of her.

"Ollie..?" She mumbled, her throat hoarse from the sobbing she'd been doing on the journey over to St. Mungo's. "Did we .." she took a deep breath, preparing herself for the worst. "Did we lose the baby?" She couldn't think of any other reason as to why Oliver would be crying. She couldn't really remember the last time she'd seen Ollie cry.

"Nope, our baby is a little fighter. But come on, he's got you and me for parents." Oliver grinned, of course he was cracking jokes at a time like this.

"Wait, did you say he?"

"Oh, I know it's going to be a he."

"Mhm, okay.." Hermione nodded, still slightly bewildered to her situation, medically and emotionally. "Hold up, why were you crying then?"

Oliver looked down, he'd been stroking his thumb across her hand throughout their conversation, but as soon as she asked him that he stopped. He figured he would have to be honest with her at some point, but he didn't think it was the right time to have such a heavy conversation. "I've .. I've been having doubts. About whether or not I'll be a good dad."

"What? How long have you been feeling like this..?"

"I dunno, it just nags at the back of my mind. And it's nothing to do with my Dad, he's an amazing father - always has been. I just don't know if I can live up to his standards, I want my child to have a dad just like him, and what if I can't be that person?" Oliver spoke quietly, his scottish accent slipping further and further away from him now. Hermione reached out and hugged him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders gently, her tiny frame enveloping his much larger one.

"Oliver Wood, you are an amazing man. And will make an extraordinary father, just because you want to live up to the great example your father has given you is not a bad thing. But if you aren't the same as him, you have not let me down, or our baby down." She took his hand and rested it on her belly, "We love you unconditionally, no matter your faults or your weaknesses. Neither of us know what we're doing, I mean I'm 22 for Merlin's sake - if someone had told me 5 years ago that I'd be having a baby and getting married at 22 I would've hexed them! It wasn't in my plan. You know that. But with you… Everything changes, you make me want to slow down, explore the world, experience every little moment. And I can't wait to do that with our little baby by our side, but we're going to make mistakes. Just like your dad let you fly right into the lake, his heart probably went through his chest at that point - but he knew you'd be okay. Children are made of tough stuff, just like our little guy has shown us tonight."

The man sat next to Hermione was not the same man she went on a date to the Hyde park fairground with, he was not the same man who proposed to her and he was not the same man he was ten minutes ago. He had a different approach now, now he knew he could conquer anything - because he had the girl he loved by his side.

"Merlin, look at me. I'm meant to be looking after you."

"Come on Wood, we knew that wasn't going to last." She winked, caressing her bump gently. They were going to be okay.


	35. Chapter 35

**Saturday 25th February 2004**

 **"** Are you sure you've got everything?" Oliver said, holding a large over night bag in one hand, and a bunch of flowers in the other hand. Hermione smiled at the image of her fiance, impatiently trying to be patient.

"I'm sure I have everything. You sound like me now." She gently eased herself off the bed, her whole body ached but she insisted she could walk on her own. They were just side effects of the potions she was taking, or at least thats what Healer Montgomery kept telling her. "Which, before you say anything, is not a bad thing."

Oliver held his hands up in a mock 'innocent' gesture, but ended up hitting himself in the face with the overnight bag.

"Merlin, let me take my bag." She reached out for it but he stepped away from her.

"No! Hermione I'm serious, you've got to look after yourself. Especially considering they kept you in for longer than they intended, you know you're at home for two weeks, right?"

Her face fell, no one had told her. She thought she'd be allowed to go right back to work on Monday. Who was going to manage the department? She had a meeting with finance on Tuesday, and then a meeting with Kingsley on Thursday..

"What? What is it? Hermione?"

She blinked slowly and looked up to him, _control your breathing, get it together._ Finally, she spoke. "Sorry, I um, I had a flash back." _Yep. That seems plausible, good work brain._

"Merlin, I didn't know you were still getting those. Are you okay?"

She nodded, smiled. The smile didn't reach her eyes, the mention of flashbacks flung images to the front of her brain, things she hadn't seen or thought about in years. Oliver knew there was something wrong, and Hermione knew she wouldn't be able to keep all that had happened to her in the war to herself for much longer. But instead, she kissed his cheek, told him she loved him, and set out to hail a cab.

* * *

Harry was hanging multi coloured streamers in the living room, it seemed ironic to have paper streamers draping over a black chandelier, but that was the Malfoy household. He chuckled to himself at the thought, then switched his iPod on, and Elephunk's 'Where is the love?' came on. Draco would never understand it, but muggle music was so much better than anything that wizards produced.

Dancing around the living room was how Draco found Harry, Scorpius was with Narcissa, decorating his birthday cake. It was almost a tradition, on Scorpius' first birthday Narcissa came round and Scorpius covered his cake in marshmallows and sprinkles and everything he could find, even though the cake had already been decorated beautifully. So on his second birthday Narcissa brought around a plain cake, and all of the decorations she could find. But this year Harry and Draco wanted to surprise him with a birthday party, so Draco dropped off Scorpius early in the morning.

"Hey dancing queen," he teased, laughing at Harry pulling some grease lightning moves to ABBA hits.

Harry turned around and laughed, switching the speaker off. "Hey gorgeous." Gently he kissed Draco's lips, then carried on decorating the living room and dining room.

"Do you need any help? You look like you're all done in here."

"Yeah, you could grab his balloon from the bedroom." Draco nodded, running up the staircase. When he walked into his bedroom he found the gold helium balloon immediately, and as he picked it up, a piece of paper moved from underneath the balloon. Kneeling down he picked up the paper and was about to screw it up before he saw Harry's slightly backward, messy handwriting scrawled onto the paper. It was almost like a letter, in the very informal sense of the word, and it was addressed to Scorpius. _I can read it right? He's my son, I'm sure he won't mind.._

' _Scorpius,_

 _It's 2004, and unbelievably you are three tomorrow. But you're 18 when you're reading this. Merlin, that's crazy. Now you think I've known you all your life, and that I'm just your other Dad, but I only met you when you were two and a half. Which seems weird to you, but its okay. Me and your Papa, or whatever you call him now, we love you so much. You might also think it's weird that I'm writing you a letter as your Papa's boyfriend, and that's kinda all I am at the moment. But I know that we're going to work out, which is how I know that you'll call me Dad and you'll find me embarrassing, or you'll think that I should just give up on the trainers and wear sensible shoes? Yeah - not going to happen._

 _Anyway, back to why I'm writing you this letter. My Dad, who you will have heard countless stories about from me, and from Hagrid, wrote me a letter when I was born, and he told me that he would write me a letter every year for my birthday, then give them me on my eighteenth. Now.. he obviously couldn't do that, but I can do that for you. And your siblings, so here it is. Happy birthday Scorp, I promise me and your Papa won't show too many humiliating photographs at your party._

 _Harry, or I guess, Dad.'_

Draco had tears in his eyes as he read the letter, the balloon tightly gripped in his other hand. _Oh Harry, how do you always know?_ He tucked the letter back where he found it and strode over to his bed side cabinet, pulling open the draw and muttering a spell to open the secret compartment where he kept the ring.

* * *

All of the guests were waiting in the lounge, hiding behind furniture or in Harry and Draco's case, underneath the invisibility cloak. Mr and Mrs Weasley, Charlie, George and Angelina, Daphne ( Astoria's sister ), Ginny, Percy, Hermione, Oliver and Ron were all in attendance, Draco and Scorpius' family increased ten fold when Harry came into their lives. Narcissa was on her way with Draco, and everyone was waiting with bated breath.

Finally they heard the happy giggles of the little boy, running into the hallway, taking off his coat and his hats and gloves as he did so. He looked around for his Papa and Harry, but couldn't find them anywhere. He ran into the living room, with Narcissa following, and glanced around the room, becoming more confused by the second. Until everyone jumped out from hiding and shouted 'Happy Birthday!'

Harry and Draco scooped Scorpius up and gave him a big hug, which Hermione quickly took a photo of. Scorpius probably had no idea what was going on, but all of his favourite people were crowded into the room and he had a beaming smile on his face.

"Did you have a good time with Nanny?" Harry asked Scorpius, who was now balanced on Draco's hip.

"Yup! We dec-or-ate-d my cake!" Draco smiled proudly, and kissed Scorpius' forehead.

"Well done little guy, that's a big word. Do you know what cake is in our special language?"

Scorpius had to think for a minute, but then he wriggled excitedly. "Gat-oo!"

"Gateau, oui. Très bien!" Draco spoke easily, smiling at his two boys. Harry bit his lip slightly, continuously amazed at how intelligent Draco is.

Once the initial excitement had settled down, Scorpius sat on the sofa between Harry and Draco, and everyone else took a seat somewhere in the room - it was time for Scorp's birthday presents.

* * *

"Now Scorpius, I hope you don't mind, but I have a present for Harry too. Is that ok?"

Scorpius had been told of his Papa's plans a couple of weeks ago, Draco had wanted to check with Scorp that it was ok - even though he wasn't really aware what was going on, nor would he remember it. That wasn't the point though, Draco was making a big decision that would affect their tiny little family forever; it would be wrong not to involve Scorpius. So he nodded eagerly, wriggling off Harry's lap.

Draco stood up, "Harry could you stand up for a minute? I have something I need to say."

As asked, Harry awkwardly stood up, looking around the faces in the room. _Do they know something I don't know?_

Draco then got down on one knee, and it took everything in Harry not to swear, _Is he proposing? Is his shoe lace undone? Shut up idiot, he's not wearing shoes. Fuck. OKay. He's really doing this. Crap. Listen to him!_

"So for weeks I've been thinking about what to say, and Scorpius can definitely back me up here; Merlin, I've had cue cards written, and letters, and placards, and everything under the sun. I wanted to say something that was just right, that was perfect for you. But then I realised that I should probably just speak from the heart, which was also a struggle, because I'm not sure what my heart is doing right now.. Actually, I can tell you." Draco stopped, and looked Harry right in the eye. "My heart feels like someone has strapped it onto a broom, and no one's in charge. It's flying around aimlessly trying to figure out what it's doing, and suddenly it starts doing loop the loops, and nose dives. And then you slow down and you come to a stop, and your knees are wobbling, your pulse is throbbing through your veins.. But you want to do it all over again because words can't describe that feeling.. You know that?

Harry nodded, his eyes watering, everyone else in the room around him staring at the two of them.

"That feeling is what I feel every single day when I'm around you. You make me feel this long reel of emotions that I didn't even know I had inside of me, you see the real me, not the Draco Malfoy that I project to the world, Harry you see the raw, unedited, simplistic version of myself. You see me when I'm brushing my teeth, when my hair is a mess, you see me when I get in from work at gone 10 at night, when I'm knackered, when I'm trying desperately to push laws and limitations that will make education better but people just can't see it.. and most importantly, you still love me after that. I want every single day with you to be like that last little bit on your broom, when you're coming to a stop, but I don't want to ever stop flying. So if you'll have me, then I want you for life. Harry James Potter, will you marry me?"

Harry dropped to his knees, his face streaming with tears, and he kissed him, gently, slowly, softly. Draco slipped the simple ring onto his finger, and Scorpius ran to hug them both. The little boy whispered in his papa's ear, "What can I call him now?"

"What would you like to call him?"

Scorpius smiled secretly and looked up to Harry, "Dad?"

Harry nodded, pulling the little boy close to his chest. "I'd like that very much."

And there they were, bonded together, a family. Their family and friends were sat around the room, a few tears, but none the less, every single person had a smile on their face - a great big beaming smile, at the happiness of two men who didn't deserve anything else in their lives. Hermione and Oliver were sat together on the grey two person sofa, Oliver with his arm around Hermione's shoulder, and Hermione's hands resting on her slightly swollen belly. "I can finally let him go. He's got someone to protect him now, someone that's not me." She whispered, and Oliver smiled, kissing her forehead.

"He has. And he will be safe."

* * *

AN: I love hearing your reviews & if anyone has anything they'd like to say or for me to include in the story then now is kind of the time, I'm planning for the story to have 50 chapters. Is that too many? Too few? Agh!


	36. Chapter 36

**Monday 27th February 2004**

Harry stretched his arms out, yawning with a mouth wider than a lion, Draco looked on at him laughing. "That's attractive." He muttered sarcastically, picking out his tie.

"Hey! That's mean." Harry pouted, pulling the duvet up around him, burying his head into the soft sheets was the only thing that made this morning appealing. Draco, Scorpius and Harry had spent all of yesterday at the Malfoy Manor, playing in the last of the snow and gorging on a feast set out by the house elves. Narcissa knew how to make her only son happy, and her grand son for that matter. However the delights of yesterday meant that neither of the men wanted to get up this morning, because getting up meant facing the world, the newspapers, and work.

"Are you actually going to get out of bed today? Our son needs taking to pre school you know." Draco nagged, finally deciding on a cool emerald tie, the colour wasn't shiny in the slightest - Harry had warned him that his ties were getting much more extravagant.

Harry's face lit up and Draco had no idea what he'd said, "Our son?"

Draco shrugged, smiling shyly. "He is our son. I.. I found the letter you wrote him." The blonde man sat on the end of the bed, folding his legs elegantly, whilst Harry, the exact opposite of him, sat up: his hair disheveled, in dire need of a shave, and coffee.

"I'm sorry if you felt I was stepping on your toes.. But Scorp will grow up with two Dad's and I want to be as much a part of his life, as I can be. I want to be what my Dad couldn't be."

"No! I didn't feel like that at all, after reading that.. That's what pushed me to propose, I never intended to do it in front of our whole family, I wanted to keep it quiet and intimate. But that ring was burning a whole in my pocket, just sat there. It was the right time." At the mention of his engagement ring, Harry looked at the beautiful ring on his finger - it was sleek and simple, yet felt just right. He knew exactly where it was from as well, Narcissa had discovered an expensive jeweller's in the heart of wizarding Paris, they had three stores in the whole of the wizarding world and were very exclusive. It explained why Narcissa had taken an unexpected trip to Paris a month ago.

"Are you sure you can't lounge around in bed with me all day? I could make it worth your while.." Harry bit his lip slightly, looking up at Draco.

"I have to get to work Harry. You know I do."

He pouted in response, behaving like a petulant child, and he knew it. But the thing was, he didn't care.

"I was thinking, we could have a weekend away, Mother really wants to take Scorpius away to the lodge in France.. It'll be his half term soon, so he could go for a long weekend, and we could have a long weekend somewhere to celebrate our engagement properly."

"I like the idea of that.. Where would you like to go? Abroad?"

"Somewhere hot, and private. I'm sick of the Prophet and those fucking journalists." Draco was scathing, and he didn't even know what they'd written yet.

"Okay, I'll make it a surprise. I'll owl Narcissa when I get back from dropping Scorp off at pre-school. Get it all sorted out. But you need to make sure to get the time off work, tell your assistant or something."

"Yes boss." Draco mocked, and leant down to kiss Harry's lips. Harry moved his hand from Draco's shoulder and went to pull his tie to get him onto the bed, but Draco quickly moved away. "Nuhuh, save that for later."

* * *

Oliver had taken two weeks off, it wasn't the best time in the pre-season to be doing that but he had no choice, he wanted to look after his wife to be. And it would be enjoyable, if Hermione wasn't so damn grumpy. She still wasn't allowed to go back to work for another two weeks, and she found herself unsure of what to do. They were both laying in bed at Oliver's place, snuggled under the quilt. Early morning sunlight was creeping through the gap in the curtains, bathing Oliver's skin in warmth. Hermione lay on her side, in little sleep shorts and a white tank top - the top crept up over her convex stomach, she couldn't keep still, by this time in the day she was at work and had already had a meeting. It seemed strange for her to relax, to settle.

Oliver lay one hand on her belly, gently sliding his thumb back and forth against her soft skin. "What would you like to do today?" He asked, well aware of her answer.

"Go to work." She mumbled in a grump, it was wrong of her to be grumpy and she knew it, however that nagging thought in her subconscious didn't change her mood.

"Not going to happen, sorry." He wasn't apologetic in the slightest, and Hermione knew it. "Maybe we could have a bath.. Make pancakes? Watch shitty muggle tv in bed?"

Hermione nodded, smiling. She snuggled up close to her fiance and rested against his chest, he still had his hand on her belly, the thought that their little baby was growing inside of her, astounded him. "Could we go see your parents? Not today, or even this week. But I've got a whole two weeks off, and so have you. So maybe next week? As nervous as the thought makes me, I'd really like it if they were to get to know me. You know, the real me. The one that isn't all over the papers, or the magazines.. Hermione, not 'Hermione Granger: A third of the famous trio!'"

Oliver laughed, "Of course! They'd be delighted to have a minute in your company," he leant down and kissed her lips gently, smiling as she reciprocated. "Merlin, you're beautiful." He mumbled, slightly breathless.

"Ollie, I'm in my pyjamas, have a bird's nest for hair, and have just gotten out of hospital. I doubt I look half decent, let alone beautiful." She grabbed the bobble off her wrist and tied her hair up into a messy bun.

"OK, so the pyjamas thing - I'm down for pyjamas any day. Your hair doesn't look like a .. birds nest? Is that what you said? And yeah you've just gotten out of hospital, but that doesn't change my opinion. Not one bit." He kissed her forehead, and then wriggled down the bed to kiss her stomach. "I love you too little one, even if you're the size of a guinea pig. You don't know this yet, but you're currently growing yourself a good strong pair of lungs. That way - you're going to be an amazing quidditch player."

Hermione smiled and pulled her top up a little, rubbing her stomach. "Just like your Daddy. But, let's face it. You're going to have my brains. There's going to be no stopping you."

Oliver kissed Hermione's hand, she'd never seen him look so at ease. So happy.

"What are you smiling at Granger?"

"You."

"Oh really? And what has my beautiful face, athletic figure, and dashing smile done to you this time?"

She laughed and threw one of the pillows at him, jumping up out of bed whilst he was disorientated. He was just about to throw one back when he stopped, _look after your girl, she's going to need it._ He remembered what the Healers had told her whilst she'd been sleeping.

"Oliver, what is it? You look like you've seen a ghost." She walked over to him, "Ollie? Come back, where have you gone?"

Slowly he came back to the room, looking around and then wrapping his arms around Hermione. She held him tight, but had no idea what to do when she felt his tears on her shoulder. And there they stood, for what seemed like an eternity, until Oliver looked her straight in the eye and said, "I think I need to go see someone. I need to talk about what happened in the war." His shoulders dropped, his back relaxed, the muscles that had been tense since the day she met him didn't seem so tense anymore.

"I'll come with you. You're not alone in this, Ollie."

"I know. For the first time in years I don't feel alone." She kissed his cheek, taking his hands and resting them on her stomach.

"Here's for my honesty then, I've been having flash backs. Bad ones. They come and go, but I hadn't had one for months, and now they're everywhere. They had me on sleeping potions in St. Mungos, because I was so restless that first night.. I don't know how to make them go away anymore… And I don't want our baby born into a world where his or her very brave parents are still battling with demons." Hermione looked up at him, begging for him to say the right thing.

"Our baby, will come into this world, surrounded by people who fought. And that's a fact. But that will make them honour bravery, respect the wounded, and know courage. They won't care that we have nightmares, or that we can't walk past certain places without going cold. All they'll know is that we love them, unconditionally. And this baby, like Luna and Neville's, will grow up with a massive family. Something that neither of us can say we had. This little guinea pig of a human, is going to be the luckiest guinea pig. Never mind how wounded we are."

* * *

 **Knock, Knock, Knock, Knock. Knock. Knock. Even louder knock.**

"Oliver, it's your front door. Go and get it already!" Hermione shouted from the kitchen, prepping their lunches. Hermione mixed her potion into her tea, and scowled at the colour. Finally she heard Ollie getting up off the sofa and walking to the front door.

"Harry! You alright mate?"

"Yeah not too bad, not too bad. Hows the invalid?" Harry grinned, checking to see Hermione wasn't sat in the lounge.

"She's good, do you want to stop for lunch?"

"Nah! Sorry, this is kind of a quickie. Don't know if you got their owl, what with your security wards. But Luna and Neville have had the twins! Very early this morning, a girl and a boy." He grinned, and Oliver called for Hermione who appeared almost instantly.

"They've had the twins, early this morning, a girl and a boy." Oliver filled her in.

"So what have they called them?" Hermione asked.

"Kitty and Xavier Longbottom. Luna didn't care about having her last name, surprisingly."

"I'll send Luna my congratulations, oh we've got to go out and get them presents now we know what they are!" Hermione grinned, she was so excited for one of her best friends. "Shit, Ollie, we're godparents!"

Harry laughed, "Well, I'm on my way to go book a holiday, so I'll leave you two to it."

"Ooh, for you and Draco?"

"Yeah yeah, anywhere you recommend? He wants somewhere warm, and private."

"There's a wizard colony in Antigua, and it's beautiful this time of year. You could go there." Hermione said, thinking back to when Ginny and her went.

"I didn't know you'd been to Antigua," Oliver remarked. "I went in 2001."

"Oh Wood, there's a lot you don't know about me." She winked, and skipped back off to the kitchen. She was starving, and wanted to go shopping for Kitty and Xavier as soon as possible.

"See you later Harry!" Oliver called out as he shut the door, ready for a 'fun-filled' afternoon of Hermione cooing over baby things..

* * *

AN: I've not written a chapter this short in a long while - I'm sorry! I just wanted a bit of fluff after all the Hermione drama, and then the Drarry proposal.. So after I finish this I'm thinking of doing a story about Kitty, Xavier, Scorpius & Oliver/Hermione's baby. When they're at school - would anyone be interested?


	37. Chapter 37

AN: I'd like to make a point now that I twist the story ever so slightly for dramatic effect, I'm aware that the following things discussed in this chapter may or may not have happened but hey. If you've read 37 chapters of this rubbish, you might as well carry on!

* * *

"Oliver?" Healer Dan ducked his head out of the door, looking down the corridor to where Oliver was stood, looking at Hermione, trying to calm himself down. She had both of his hands in his hers, squeezing them gently.

"You're going to be okay. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." She whispered, kissed his cheek, and then made eye contact with Dan. He smiled at her knowingly, Dan was aware how hard this was for Oliver; it did help that Hermione had owled him before Oliver's appointment, to give him a bit of background.

Oliver turned to walk down the short hallway and into Healer Turbs' office. He quickly looked around the room, smiling at the biro's on his desk - they reminded him of Hermione.

"Oliver, Hermione. Take a seat on the couch, when you're ready. There's no rush." Dan spoke calmly, and it warmed them both. Oliver especially. The couple sat down, but Oliver checked on Hermione before he thought of anything else. He needed to know she wasn't pushing herself too far.

"Oh Oliver, I can sit on a sofa and listen to two people talk for pete's sake." She berated him, with a slight twinkle in her eye. Amazingly, she even stopped herself from rolling her eyes. As Dan got settled in his chair opposite, Hermione felt Oliver's hand tense up again, but she squeezed his hand and snuggled closer to him.

"Congratulations, by the way. I don't think I've properly seen you since I heard about the pregnancy." Dan's statement was directed at Oliver, it was clear that he wanted to get a conversation going between them.

"Thanks, it feels weird when people are congratulating us.. Obviously because we've known for months." Oliver shrugged, looking at Hermione's bump.

"You'll love being a dad, teaching them how to play quidditch, their first steps. It's mesmerising."

"How old are yours?"

"10, me and my husband have twins."

"Wow! Me and Hermione very recently became godparents to twins, it's crazy that we're all settling down and having children.." Oliver seemed like he was going to continue, until he went off into a day dream. He was only gone a second, but he grew paler and tenser when he came back out.

"Where did you go?" Dan asked, sensibly, matter of factly.

"The night before the final battle. Me and Percy.. we were talking about how, when this was over, when the war was over, we were going to grasp every opportunity. See our family more, hug our parents more, tell the people in our lives how much we loved them. We kept telling ourselves that we were good people, and we were on the right side of all of this. Then the next morning.. in the early hours, a death eater found us, right by the lake where we were on guard." Oliver's voice was quavering, and he was shaking like a leaf. But Hermione squeezed his hand once more and kissed his shoulder. "Before I even had chance to react the death eater had disarmed Perce.. he was levitating him in the air, performing an unforgivable on him, and all he could do was laugh. This.. guy, this creature he was laughing as Percy screamed, and I killed him. I didn't even think twice about it, I just did it. That guy could have had a family, he could've been forced into being a death eater… who am I to take away his life like that?"

Dan slowly put his note book down on the desk in front of him, "Who have you told?"

"No one." Oliver whispered, he hadn't even told Hermione. He used to be able to forget what he'd done, remind himself that it was a war, and people had to die. She was still by his side, she hadn't left. How could she? She'd killed people too. Only a few, and they were all about to kill her, and others, but they'd still been people at the end of the day.

"I presume the ministry know, obviously with the wand logs, but death eater murders were recorded as 'greater good deaths' and no one was prosecuted for them.. I never even got a warning, I just got on with my life and tried to tell myself I hadn't done it."

"Do you feel like you should've been punished for what you did? Because you shouldn't-"

"No." Oliver replied simply and easily, what he did saved Percy's life. "I don't feel I should be punished for what I did. It was a war. People died."

"Okay. Oliver I'm going to ask you some yes or no questions. Is that ok?"

He nodded in reply, his features were more intense than usual, and his skin seemed grey, even though he had a tan 365 days a year due to the amount of time he was outdoors.

"Did you want to fight?"

"Yes."

"Do you feel satisfied with your efforts?"

"Ye-Yes."

"Were you ever in a position where you did something you didn't want to do?"

"Yes."

"Do you have flashbacks?"

"Yes."

"Do you sleep well?"

"Mostly."

"Do you have nightmares?"

"Yes."

"Did you see people struggle?"

"Yes."

"Did you see anyone die? Did you see your friends die? Did you face unspeakable truths?"

His voice cracked this time as he muttered, "Yes."

"I'm going to ask you again, do you feel satisfied with your efforts?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Me and Percy.. we were outside the room of requirements, well just down the hallway. Then it all happened so slowly yet so quickly, but we saw Fred.. and there was this explosion, and he was gone. We knew it, he was flung against the wall, and we just stood there. His body just lay there, and we'd been joking about Percy leaving the ministry. We'd been _joking._ "

"You couldn't have done anything Oliver." Dan picked up his notebook again and quickly scrawled something down.

"I could have. I could have done anything to stop Fred from dying. But I didn't." He took a deep breath, straightened up his back from the hunched position he'd been in, and spoke. "I think that's enough for today, thanks." He quickly stood up, then looked to Hermione, who was as ashen as he was.

"Thank you Dan, I'll see you tomorrow yeah?" Hermione smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes, and hugged him quickly.

"Normal coffee place?"

"Mhm, I want to hear all about your holiday." Hermione had managed to make enough small talk for Oliver to be out of the room. "Thank you so much for today. I thought he'd close up, and not talk at all."

"It's no problem. When's best for the next appointment, in your opinion?"

"Well.. we're going to go see his parents whilst I'm on hospital leave," she rolled her eyes and he smiled, "So I'll let you know when we're back, consult with his calendar and book him in. Is that okay?"

"That's fine. No need to push him, especially if he's not spoken about any of this for years. I'm sorry too, for pushing him so hard today. Look after him yeah? You're both so strong, but I really feel like you two need to take it easy for a while. In my professional opinion." He smiled at her softly and hugged her again.

* * *

Hermione had thrown all of the clothes she would need into a bag and taken it over to Olivers, he never managed to pack on his own, and Hermione really wanted to be by his side… Oliver was still a little shaky after their session, but he knew in himself that it was the right thing to do. His thick cloaks were hung up in the wardrobe, which he knew he should pack for the few days they were at his parents.

"Have you packed your thick cloak? It gets bitterly cold in the halls at this time of year." He advised Hermione, who was sorting through her bag, making sure the clothes were packed in some sensible order.

"Yes, I've packed my cloak. I know how your parents are with their formalities." She smiled, zipping the bag up. They both had trunks but they seldom used them, Oliver had to use his Puddlemere one if he went away on international - that was only for show though. Once she was done she walked over to the wide arm chair in the corner of his room and sat down in it, rubbing her bump gently.

"I know you don't want to talk about this morning, and I'm not pushing you to. But I'm really proud of you.."

He stopped his packing, closed his eyes briefly, taking a deep breath. When he opened them again they were full of fear, hurt, and courage. They were both war veterans, both struggling with what had happened and both trying to figure out how the hell they'd managed to get this far without talking about what had happened. "You still love me, even after what I did?"

"Of course I still love you.. I killed people too, what we seem to forget.. is that we were soldiers, just unlike muggle soldiers, we had wands, but that didn't really change anything. We defended the wizarding world then, and we should be proud of what we did. I know, I know it's hard to live with the consequences but we have to." Hermione spoke softly, calmly. Almost like she'd rehearsed this in her head a thousand times over - but that's what Hermione was like, poised, well-mannered. "In future, you've got to tell me if you get a flashback, wake me if you have a nightmare.. Yeah?"

"The same goes for you, Hermione." He said, walking over to her, his bare feet padding against the wooden floor of his bedroom. When he knelt in front of her and took her hands in his, her heart fluttered like it had done the first time they kissed. "We've got to look out for each other from now on, no more keeping things from each other. None of that, okay?"

She nodded, "I promise."

He smiled at her, and kissed her lips gently, then leaned down and kissed the top of her belly, "If not for anyone but this little guy."

"Still think it's a boy do you?"

"I'd bet my broomstick on it."

* * *

Oliver didn't have a floo network connected to his flat, as he lived in a muggle flat, which people told him was odd, and he was aware that it was odd, but he still didn't care. He knew that he wouldn't live there forever, so what was the point of buying an expensive wizarding flat? However it did mean that they had to go over to Hermione's to use the floo. They weren't travelling by floo, as Hermione was still quite weak, but they were going to send the bulk of their luggage up by floo.

As they arrived at the townhouse, they were greeted by Scorpius toddling around, Harry packing, Draco trying desperately to get Scorpius to eat something and Ron teaching Whiskey how to jump.

"Hi.. mad house." Hermione grinned, slipping her gloves and coat off.

Draco looked up, his blonde hair a mess, his eyes looking tired. "Hermione, Oliver! Thank Merlin, please can you two feed Scorp? He needs to eat before Mother arrives to take him to the lodge, but I just can't get him to keep still, and I need to go next door and pack."

"Breathe Draco!" Hermione kissed his cheek, as Oliver picked Scorpius up and held him on his hip.

Draco grinned, "Thank you. So. Much. I'm just going to go pack and then I'll be right back."

"Merlin, he needs a holiday. Hey Harry!" Oliver shouted, taking Scorpius into the kitchen and sitting him in his chair at the end of the table. Hermione located the bowl of pasta that she presumed was meant for Scorpius, and then she poured him a glass of milk to go with it.

"I'll feed Scorpius if you go get our bags into the floo? Your mum and dad will be expecting them any minute."

"Aren't you guys travelling by floo?" Harry walked in, followed by three bowls and a mug, clearly he'd been cleaning his room before they went away. Oliver walked past him, into the lounge.

"Hermione, hospital, pregnant. Remember?"

Harry laughed, blushing crimson. "Oh um yeah! Sorry Mione."

She wafted her hand around as if to say, 'doesn't matter'. She'd lived with the boys long enough to know that things went over their heads easily, especially when they had to worry about something else as well - like a holiday. "So is Ron here home alone?"

"Yeah, I've told him that he's not allowed any house parties."

"Merlin, you get more and more dad like by the minute." Hermione teased, as Scorpius finished up his bowl of pasta.

Finally, Ron, Hermione, Draco, Harry, and Oliver were sat on the sofas in the living room, breathing a sigh of relief. Scorpius had been picked up half an hour ago by Narcissa, and after a few tears on his part, they finally managed to get away.

"When did we get old?" Ron smiled, looking around at his closest friends.

"Don't know what you're saying - I'm not old." Oliver raised an eyebrow, teasing Ron.

"You're engaged, 5 months off having a baby. And you're saying that not settled?" Harry said, lazily resting against Draco.

"All right, all right. That's settled. But I'm not _old._ My parents are old."

Hermione grinned, "I'll tell them that!"

"No you will not! Mum'll send me back home."

"Only you? What about me?"

"They love you. You're giving them a grand child."

Draco smiled, looking at the two of them. "Merlin you two are sweet. Just get married already."

"Have you seen me? I'm like a fat seal." Hermione laughed, looking at the boys.

Oliver kissed her cheek and lay his hands on her stomach, "No you're not."

"Ha, it's only going to get worse from here." Ron grinned, checking the time. "Wait, what time were you guys going to leave for?"

"What time is it?"

"4 pm."

"Bollocks, yeah we've got to go. You ok Mione?" Oliver untangled himself from Hermione, holding his hands out to her. "I've got you."

And with that, Hermione took his hands and got herself up. Feeling more content than she had done in months, even though she'd had an amazing few months with her family - she finally felt like she had everything under control again. It might be the lack of work and therefore lack of stress, but right there, with a small part of her family, she couldn't have been more grateful. Tears pricked her eyes and she clung onto Oliver.

"Are you okay, babe?" He whispered, as Draco, Harry and Ron chatted.

She bit her lip and looked him in the eye, "Never better."


	38. Chapter 38

Sad to say that I'm wrapping this story up, not many chapters left now.. But I will be writing a Scorbus sequel ( obviously with a few twists ) Again, thank you for reading!

* * *

"Harry?" Draco whispered, gently shaking his partners shoulders. "Harry, babe, wake up." He spoke a little louder, trying to break Harry out of his nightmare - he'd been tossing and turning for a few minutes now, and talking for longer than that. Draco kissed his forehead, feeling the sweat dripping down his skin.

"Huh? Uhh? Draco?" He mumbled, slowly coming to. "Are you okay?" Harry rubbed at his eyes, looking concerned at the blonde haired man kneeling on the bed.

"I'm fine, it's you we should be worrying about. That's your third nightmare tonight, Harry." Draco spoke quietly, his teeth grazing at his bottom lip anxiously.

"Draco you don't need to worry about this." Harry grasped for his wand on the bed side table and muttered "Lumos," helping him find his glasses, which he then slipped onto his nose.

"Yes I do.. You're my boyfriend, and I worry." He slipped his hand into Harry's, squeezing it tight. "What was your nightmare about?"

"Dumbledore.. and his death." The words came out of his mouth as soon as Harry realised they'd never spoken about it. Dumbledore, the death, the part that Draco played in all of that. "But we don't have to talk about it.. I know you would've done things differently if you could have."

Draco stared at the sheets for a while, not moving, not blinking. "Do you?" his voice cracked, the emotions were there, raw, unedited. "Do you really think I would've done things differently?"

"I do." Harry said quickly, unbeknown to him, but the power of those words brought an intense wave of emotion over Draco. He quickly straddled Harry and kissed his lips, pouring his heart and soul into the kiss.

"Woah woah woah," Harry breathlessly spoke, finally managing to pull away. "What was that for?"

"Giving me a second chance, and forgetting everything that I did. Not many people really believe deep down that I deserve a second chance, they believe I should be locked up with my father. If it wasn't for my work in the Ministry, I think most people would think I was trying to conjure up a rebellion." Draco snorted, shaking his head in disbelief at some of the rumours he'd heard about himself and Scorpius.

"You haven't got time to conjure up a rebellion," Harry grinned, tucking a blonde lock of his hair behind his ear, "Seriously Draco, you may have been dealt a shit set of cards in your childhood, but I know you're not that guy. I will always have faith in you."

"Always?"

"Always." Harry whispered, kissing his lips gently. "Now, what do you think of going for an early morning run? We could probably catch the best of the sunrise."

"We did get here pretty late last night.. It would give us a chance to explore the island." Draco smiled, but made himself comfy against Harry's chest instead. "But I'm quite happy here too.."

"Come on you lazy troll, when else can you run around a tropical island and not be stalked by the likes of Skeeter?" Harry had pushed himself up and gotten out of bed, "Look, if we go for a run now, I'll make sure that you get to have breakfast in bed."

"Pancakes? Toast? Pumpkin pasties? So many carbs that you roll your eyes right into the back of your head?" Draco grinned, forcing himself out of the covers.

Harry raised an eyebrow quizzically, "Pumpkin pasties? For breakfast?" Rolling his eyes, Harry smiled and relented. "Ugh, fine. But you'll regret it."

* * *

Hermione, Oliver and his parents were sat at one end of the 22 seater mahogany dining table, trying a number of different dishes. Mrs Wood had decided it would be an excellent opportunity to get more wedding planning done - so they were spending the day selecting the starter, main and desert for the wedding breakfast. Mr Wood was sat at the head of the table, with his wife to his left and the couple to his right. Hermione was casually dressed in a royal blue jersey dress, one that was enchanted to wrap around her ever growing bump and support it easily. Oliver wore grey slacks and a blue shirt too, that complimented Hermione's dress beautifully; they never seemed to plan on wearing complimentary outfits, it just happened more than they could count.

"Now, considering how lovely you both look today, why don't we take the official invitation photos? You've got to have them sent out soon or people won't be able to make it." Mrs Wood smiled, dabbing at the corner of her mouth with the white cloth napkin.

"Ay Mum, I wasn't aware we'd set a date yet .." Oliver looked at Hermione suspiciously, raising one of his eyebrows. Hermione did all she could not to giggle, his Scottish accent always became broader when he was at home.

"Well I thought it would be best to set a date, you requested a winter wedding yes?"

Hermione shook her head smiling, "Yes, a winter wedding. Go on then, when are we getting married?"

"8th of December next year, baby should be 18 months by then if I've done my arithmetic correctly." She smiled at them both and then picked up another plate of deserts for them all to try.

"Fine by me if it's fine by you Oliver." Hermione smiled, happy to let Mrs Wood do most of the work. She didn't need her down time to be filled with more planning, especially with a baby on the way. "We need to get organised for this little one, at some point."

"Merlin I remember when me and your mother were expecting you, Oliver, your nursery had been decorated months in advance, but it got to the 8 month mark and we realised we didn't have any clothes for you, no robes, nothing. Of course babies don't need robes, but we thought it would be fitting if you had one set, so we searched high and low for a robe set.. Couldn't find anything, could we dear?" Mr Wood smiled fondly at the memory, looking to his wife.

"Nothing! Then at your christening, Aunt Judith gifted you this beautiful set of robes, royal blue with stars on weren't they?" Mrs Wood laced her fingers into her husbands, and Hermione looked at them both, tearing up slightly. She quickly pushed her chair back and excused herself from the table, almost running across their grand dining room. The large oak doors slammed behind her as she ran up the staircase to Oliver's room.

"What am I doing little one?" she mumbled to her stomach, rubbing it gently. "I promise, by the time you arrive, I won't do any of this. I'll be so together, people won't even realise it's me."

"But then our baby wouldn't really ever know their mum, would they Hermione?" Oliver smirked slightly, leaning against the door frame, looking on at his wife to be.

"I'm sorry I ran off like that.. Your parents, they just make me miss mine so much."

Oliver walked across the large room, to the grand king sized bed, and sat down at the edge of it. "Remember our first date? When I took you to the fairground at Hyde Park, and we went on the ferris wheel?"

Hermione nodded, wiping at her eyes with the quilt.

"You told me about your parents, and I knew from then on that I was going to love you. Your honesty, your family values.. All of those things are what my parents have taught me, but I ignored them until I met you. As soon as I got back to my apartment I wrote a 5 page letter to them about you, owling it off straight away. I was so eager for them to meet you, because I wanted you to feel at ease with my family. As easy as I'm sure I would have been with yours."

"Go on." She smiled, biting her lip slightly.

"Merlin, you're hard to please." Oliver teased, pulling her close to his chest. He kissed her hair gently, and smiled as she nuzzled close. "Who would've thought it eh?"

Hermione looked up at him, raising an eyebrow quizzically. "Thought what?"

"You, the bookish girl that never left the library, would've fought in a war, illegally brewed more poly juice potions than I can count, become the youngest head of department that the Ministry have ever seen.. and do all of that alone."

"I wasn't completely alone. .. But I know what you mean, I had no family, very few friends, yet I managed to become who I am today."

"I couldn't be prouder, you know that don't you?"

Hermione blushed, kissing his lips gently. "I know."

"Well then, why don't we go back downstairs? I'm sure that we can get some supper and have a quiet evening."

* * *

"HARRY!" Draco called from the bathroom, "Haaaaarrry!"

"Yes?"

"My hair, it looks all greasy and I don't know what to do!"

Harry laughed, holding back his want to say that it always looked greasy when he was younger, "Have you tried your quick clean charm?"

"Of course I have Potter!"

Clearly it was bothering him, so Harry walked into the bathroom, leaning against the door frame. He knew it must be bad for Draco to call him Potter: that was a name seldom used. "It looks fine, tie it back into a bun, or whatever. You always look lovely."

"You're just saying that." Draco huffed childishly, but Harry indulged him, as per usual. Draco was used to being indulged and became petulant if you didn't, which just wasn't worth Harry's time or effort.

"No I'm not, you always look lovely and that's the truth. Now kiss me you fool." Harry gently kissed Draco, resisting the temptation to run his fingers through Draco's hair and mess it up even more.

"Where are we going for dinner?"

"It's a surprise, you really can't cope with someone else calling the shots can you babe?" Harry smirked slightly, buttoning his shirt up slightly, then checking his unruly hair in the mirror. _No better, no worse than usual._

Draco grinned and murmured a quick charm to tame Harry's hair, it worked a little. Only a little. "You knew what you were getting yourself into, I'm a proud control freak. But, I don't believe that you'd be able to cope without me anymore."

"Ah that's what you like to think. Draco, should we owl your Mother later? To see if Scorpius is okay? I'm sure he will be.."

"Of course. If you think that's whats best. I'll do whatever." Draco kissed Harry's scar gently, being that he was just a little bit taller than his better half.

"I love you." Harry whispered sincerely, holding his hands around Draco's neck gently. "I can't even put it into words, and Merlin knows, I'm going to have to start planning my wedding vows months in advance.. No one's ever mattered so much to me."

It took Draco a moment to respond, he was too dazzled by his fiance's words, Draco thought back to their days at Hogwarts, he would never have guessed that Harry Potter could mean so much to him, could be wrapped around him confessing his undying love for him. "I love you too. I look forward to hearing those vows of yours." He smiled shyly, a rare emotion sweeping across his face, one tha"t was usually saved for Scorpius early in the morning, or the brief happy childhood memories he had.

"You've gone somewhere.." Harry murmured, gently stroking his thumb against Draco's milky white skin.

"Hogwarts.. How things could have been different if I hadn't been like I had.."

"It wasn't all you. We wouldn't have fallen madly in love anyway, and you know that.. You were Slytherin, I was Gryffindor. That would've been enough."

"Alright, I'll try to stop thinking about it."

"No, you will stop thinking about it. We have dinner to get to, and I don't want to sit there with you being so far away." Harry quickly broke Draco out of his thoughts, kissing him chastely and dragging him out of their hotel suite.


	39. Chapter 39

Hermione was reaching her final trimester now, and had suddenly seemed to grow a balloon of a bump. Everything infuriated her, or made her cry, and she wished she wasn't acting so irrationally, but work was driving her mad, and then she had to come home to three boys who were also driving her crazy.

"Oliver I'm so sick of this!" Hermione shouted down the staircase, "You leave all of your crap all over the house and I don't say a word but if I leave one thing out of place at your flat you go MENTAL!"

Ron quickly ran into his room after hearing Hermione screaming, "Good luck!" He mouthed to Oliver who was stood on the 2nd floor landing, with Hermione stood on the 3rd floor landing.

"I'm sorry, you know I get in late from training at the moment. Merlin forbid I want to come home to you instead of my empty grey flat!"

"Yes yes that's lovely of you, but it doesn't excuse you from leaving all of your stuff all over my house."

"Hermione why can't you come down here so we can have a sensible conversation about this? We're not kids!"

"Fine." She humphed, walking down the staircase rubbing her stomach.

"Are you okay?" Oliver asked, glancing from her stomach to her face. "I know you're mad at me but I need to know if you and the baby are okay."

"We're fine. She's just kicking."

"It's a boy."

"Frankly Oliver I couldn't fucking care if it's a troll right now!"

"You don't mean that, trolls are not a laughing matter." Oliver didn't even know why he was arguing with her over this, they'd started the argument on a completely different topic, but now, here they were, standing face to face, fists clenched, breathing heavily.

"Stop with the trolls! We were talking about you and you've just diverted AGAIN!"

"Well we can't live here forever, the baby will be born soon, and we haven't even thought about where we'e going to live!"

Hermione's face suddenly dropped, she moved against the wall and sunk to the floor, tears pricking her eyes. "Our baby hasn't got a nursery.. We haven't even begun to look at houses.. Bollocks Ollie, we can't live here can we?" Hermione was full on crying now, so Oliver slipped down the wall to her side, and wrapped his arms around her.

"Shh, come here you. We'll get this sorted.. It's not like either of us are strapped for money, why don't we go down to Diagon Alley and go to the property goblins, I'm sure we can sort this pretty soon. Didn't you guys buy a house in like 3 days? You're the greatest witch the wizarding world has ever seen, people will move mountains so that you get your perfect family home." Oliver smiled at her, kissing the top of Hermione's head.

"You think?" Hermione snuggled closer to Oliver's chest, moving his hands to her belly.

"I know. We can go in an hour? If that's okay with you."

"That's fine.. I'll probably have a bath before hand, would you run one for me?"

"Of course, and I'll tidy up my shit whilst you're in the bath."

"Thank you."

* * *

Draco pushed his key into the lock of Harry, Hermione and Ron's place, pushing open the door and finding their post on the door step. It was pretty ingenious what they had set up: the owl would drop the post on the door step outside of the house, and then a repeat charm would make the letters jump up and push themselves through the letter box. If a muggle were to see this they'd see a postman pushing the letters through the door. Draco took the letters to the kitchen table where Hermione was sat eating a bowl of cereal.

"Hey you. How's the bump?" He ordered the post into three separate piles as habit, and handed Hermione hers.

"Kicking." Hermione rolled her eyes and thanked him for the post, "But that's just the wonder of creation isn't it?"

"Ah, that sounds like something Oliver said to make you feel better?"

"Got it in one. This is a ministry envelope right, Draco?" She raised an eyebrow and tapped it with her wand, it opened itself up and started to speak.

'The decree of the Ministry of Magic suggests that Miss Hermione Granger, Head of Department for Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, should take maternity leave from this date till she feels she is ready to go back to work. The maternity cover that was recently appointed by Miss Granger will be informed of this, and make the necessary preparations.'

And with that the letter burst into flames and disappeared, "WAIT, what?!"

"You're 7 months right?"

Hermione nodded, confused.

"Well don't you know the magical clause for Ministry workers? 7 months for women, and then men have to stop working from 8 months and 2 weeks. Shacklebolt put the scheme in place.. You were at the meeting."

"That was ages ago! I probably didn't pay too much attention at the time, I didn't think I'd be pregnant at 23!"

"Hermione welcome to maternity leave."

"Ughhh!"

At this point Oliver and Harry walked into the kitchen, "What's up Mione?"

"I'm officially on maternity leave. How shit is that?"

"Well my season finishes in two weeks, so maybe it's for the best! We'll be able to buy the new house, decorate it exactly how we want it, spend a bit of time together before the baby is born.."

"When you put it like that.." Hermione smiled and got up from the table, kissing Oliver's cheek.

"Now come on you, we have an appointment with Gringotts' property merchants."

"Can't wait." Hermione replied sarcastically, accio'ing her jacket and slipping it on.

* * *

Whiskey almost knocked Hermione over running through the kitchen into the hallway, it was nearing 7 pm, and Harry had cooked a big pan of roasted veggie pasta, but Ron was only just getting home. Clearly it had been a long day. Hermione and Oliver had seen 20 different houses in varying parts of London, but neither had been keen on any of them.

"Whiskey!" Ron smiled slightly, as much as he could with his swollen face and black eye. His arm was in a sling and he walked with a limp through to the kitchen. Whiskey rubbed her body against Ron, knowing that it would make him feel better - she loved her human more than anything.

"Ronald! What happened to you?"

"We got called out to a duel, it was getting out of hand and then this happened.." Ron motioned to himself, and all of his injuries. "Don't worry, I've been to St. Mungos, got bandaged up. My arms only in a sling because one of the bones needs to be regrown. Bloody trolls."

"A troll did this to you?!" Oliver stood in shock, naively believing that trolls didn't inhabit the UK anymore.

"Mhm.. There were 4 of them, it was a nightmare. Merlin, Harry, the biggest bowl of pasta you can give me please." Ron took a seat at the end of the bench, with Whiskey dutifully sitting beside him. She licked at his hand and he rubbed her head in response. "How did the house hunt go?"

"Dreadfully. None of the houses were right for us.. We're going to try an independent property broker, apparently the goblins have lost their touch."

Draco smiled as Hermione spoke, "Not the same as when I worked for them, that's for sure."

"You worked for them?" Harry fought back the urge to laugh.

"Yes.. Only for a summer, as they were getting back on their feet after the war. They lost a lot of staff and would take anyone."

Ron laughed, "They'd have to take anyone if they hired you."

"Very funny Weasley." Draco smirked, trying hard not to take offence at Ron's comment.

Finally they were all sat around the table, tucking into their bowls of pasta and sipping at their wine, or butterbeer in Hermione and Ron's case. They were all happily laughing and joking around, sharing stories of the last few days with each other, Harry and Draco ducking out every now and then to check on Scorpius who was sleeping soundly in Harry's room. Then the door bell rang.

"I'll get it." Ron smiled, heaving himself up and off the bench.

"You sure?"

"It's only a few cuts and bruises. I preferred it when you didn't care, Wood." Ron laughed, walking towards the front door with Whiskey trailing behind him.

The rain was lashing against the house, deafeningly loud as he opened the front door to see Gabrielle stood on the step, under a yellow umbrella. She was dressed in grey skinny jeans, loafers, a thick oversized mustard jumper and a long trench coat. Ever the beautiful french lady.

"Ronald.." She stood shocked, her french accent far thicker than it had ever been. Ron found he liked it. "What happened to your face, mon cher?"

"Gabrielle.. You're back.." Ron's eyes were wide open, staring at the beautiful girl before him, her blonde hair tumbling down one shoulder in loose curls, her make up less face and her tall slim figure had never seemed so flawless.

"I'm so sorry I left like I did, oh how do you say? I punched myself every zingle day I was in Paris without you."

"No, no you kicked yourself." Ron smiled slightly, unsure whether or not to let her in or stand on the doorstep in the rain. To stop this moment in time and keep it just for them.

"Yes, yes. I did zat too. I was stupid to think that I don't need you in my life. You're all I need Ron.. I've missed you so much these past months, I .. I've cried myself to sleep more times than I can count over you. Not having you to hold me and keep me warm, to kiss my forehead and tell me everyzink will be alright. I love you.. I just, I hope you can forgive me." Gabrielle looked down at her feet, awkward, unsure of what to do after she confessed all of her feelings and emotions.

"Have you quit your job?"

"I've transferred back to St. Mungos, higher paid position due to the work I have done in Paris."

"And you're sure you won't miss your family and friends too much? You said Paris was your home, Gabs."

"Yes but mon petit chou fleur, you are my home. I could not be anywhere that you are not."

Ron felt Whiskey move past him and nuzzle Gabrielle's leg, "I feel like Whiskey has already made my decision for me." He grinned, stepping out of the hallway and onto the steps outside the house.

"You forgive me?"

"I've been miserable without you, Gabrielle. Of course I forgive you." He wrapped his good arm around her and kissed her lips gently. He felt his face sting, and winced with the pain of his arm being pushed against her body. She quickly broke away and jumped right into healer mode.

"Are you regrowing a bone? Oh Ronald, what happened?"

So he recounted the story to her and she used her natural healer ability to reduce the swelling in his face, and take away some of the pain from the regrowth of the bone in his arm. They were both sodden to the core by the time they walked into the kitchen, smiling ear to ear.

"Gabrielle!" Hermione shrieked, jumping up as quickly as she could and running over to her.

"Oh Hermione, pregnancy suits you. Tu es trés jolie!" Gabrielle kissed both of her cheeks and motioned for her to sit back down, she quickly greeted everyone at the table like lost friends. "Oo eh, where iz Ginny?"

"She's travelling again, but she says she'll be back before the baby is born." Oliver said, leaning in to kiss Hermione's cheek.

"Gabs we should probably go get changed, get you warm again." Ron wrapped his good arm around her shoulders, noticing that she had started to shiver.

"We'll see you two in the morning then," Harry teased. "All jokes aside, we're glad to have you back Gabrielle."

"I'm glad to be back." She smiled, letting Ron drag her upstairs.


	40. Chapter 40

So, this is the end. Thank you to everyone who has read and consistently reviewed, I know updates got sporadic towards the end but I hope you've really enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

* * *

"Albus! Darling, where are you?" Hermione called, walking through the living room. Scattered around the large room were colourful plastic toys, all made strange noises and held muggle batteries. Then amongst the mayhem there were wizarding story books and sweet reminders of Oliver's childhood. The room had warm duck egg blue walls, with pictures of the family and of their travels hung on the walls. Against three of the walls there were roll top velvet sofas in a rich grey colour, decorated with mustard throws that Oliver declared were 'itchy', but Hermione loved. The floors were exposed to their floorboards, enchanted carefully to make them look rustic but practical, no splinters and no dust. On top of that lived a Gryffindor common room style rug, reminding the two of them of their roots. They bought the house two weeks after they started looking, knowing straight away that it was where they wanted to bring their kids up, and grow old.

"You can't hide from Mummy forever!" She grinned as she saw her little boy, who was trying to reach for the biscuit jar that lived on the counter in the kitchen. Albus had mousey brown hair, slightly curly, very way ward. He had milky white skin like his parents and big brown eyes - the exact combination of his parents. "Come on you, it's Mummy and Daddy's big day today!" She scooped him up and held him on her hip, his blue dungarees and striped top had paint all over them, which caused Hermione to roll her eyes. For now, her 19 month old loved painting and animals, but she knew Oliver wanted him to love quidditch. Hermione however refused to let Albus board a broom until he was 5, she felt that was fair.

Albus giggled as Hermione blew raspberries on his skin, "Is that funny?"

He nodded and giggled, "Muuuummmy! Stoooop!" He whined, still with a huge smile on his face.

"Do you want to see your grandma and nana? They're going to help you get ready for today!"

"Yay!" He wriggled, eager to see his grandparents.

"They're in the snug, I think." Hermione went running through the house, pretending she was on a broomstick, they 'flew' towards the snug: a small room that had a fireplace at the heart of it, there was also a wide screen tv hung on one wall, and comfy cosy sofas agains the other two walls. It was significantly less put together than the main living room, with a lot of Albus' paintings hanging on the wall, or directly on the walls themselves. His height was also marked against the door frame. Mrs Wood and Mrs Weasley were sat next to each other on the sofas, wearing their plum dresses, matching the colour of Mr Wood and Mr Weasley's ties. "Look Albie! Nana and Grandma!"

Mrs Weasley grinned and put her tea down on the table beside her, "Hey little one!"

Albus wriggled out of Hermione's arms and ran over to Mrs Weasley. "Hiya Nana!"

"Albus, I'm going to leave you with Nana and Grandma so I can get ready okay? I'll be upstairs if you need me, and you'll be going with your grandparents to the wedding." She found it was easier to inform Albus of all the plans, even if he didn't understand, because if he didn't know he'd throw a paddy.

* * *

Neville, Ron, Harry and Draco were sat in the hotel suite, along with Mr Weasley and Mr Wood. Mr Weasley would be walking Hermione in later, but for now he was hanging around with the rest of the groomsmen. Palmer ( Oliver's best man ) and Oliver were just walking back into the suite after setting something up for the reception.

"So boys, are we ready for a wedding?" Scott Palmer grinned, clapping Oliver on the back. He winced slightly.

"Merlin, I thought Maya had calmed you down. But clearly not at all."

"My best friend is getting MARRIED to freaking Hermione GRANGER! Dude you're totally punching above your weight."

Ron, Harry and Draco laughed, Neville stood awkwardly - forgetting how it felt to be surrounded by so many men.

"Thanks Palmer, way to make a guy feel good on his wedding day. Dad, kindly tell Palmer to shut up."

"Scott, please carry on. Oliver is definitely very lucky to have a girl like Hermione." Mr Wood grinned, going to the door when he heard a knock. His wife was stood at the door with Albus in her arms.

"I'm sorry, would Albus be able to be with you for a while? He misses his Dad.. You know because he wasn't at the house last night." Mrs Wood smiled apologetically, but as soon as Albus saw his Dad he went running into the hotel room.

"DADDY!" Albus called out excitedly, and Oliver scooped him up into a big hug. He was grateful to not be wearing his suit yet, as it would've creased. And for once in his life Oliver cared about his appearance. Albus had already gotten into his suit, grey like the rest of the groomsmen, with a fake plum bow tie and the boutonniere in the button hole - he was wearing converse though, like Palmer.

Oliver held Albus on his hip, kissing his forehead. "I missed you Albie."

"Miss you more." Albus whined, snuggling close to his Dad.

"I need to start getting dressed for Mummy and I's big day, have you seen Mummy?"

Albus nodded, smiling.

"Does she look nice?"

Albus nodded even more, grinning this time. "All white."

The men in the room laughed and then Palmer took Albus from Oliver, taking him over to the bed and grabbing a sock quickly, using it to pretend to be a sock puppet.

"Oliver, you really better get ready. The rest of you as well. Strangely, Scott is the only one who's ready.." Mr Wood smiled, gesturing for himself and Mr Weasley to leave so that they could let the rest of the boys get ready in peace.

* * *

"Shit! I can't find it oh Merlin bollocks I can't find it anywhere!" Hermione was stood in her bridal lingerie and a white silk robe, running around the large room. About an hour before they'd finally managed to get all of Hermione's things from the house to Wood Manor, where she was now getting ready with all of her bridesmaids fussing over her.

"What can't you find? Calm down Hermione, we'll find it." Luna now spoke with the voice of reason, motherhood was treating her well, and perhaps it was because she had twins but she was now the organised one in the group.

"My mother's anklet, it's a thin gold chain with me, my dad and hers first letters hanging down from the chain.. She wasn't sentimental about much, but that meant a lot to her." Hermione only had her hair done at this point, thankfully, otherwise the make up would all be running.

Ginny flicked her wand and accio'ed the anklet, "Sometimes it baffles me how you forget about magic."

Hermione sighed a great deal of relief when the anklet was daintily placed into her perfectly manicured hand. Gabrielle, Fleur, Ginny and Luna were all stood in their bridesmaids dresses, a soft blush colour, perfectly matching the twists of tulle that featured in Hermione's flared out skirt of her dress. Their bouquets were made up of beautiful lilac, plum and blush silk flowers: succulents, peonies, dahlias and blackcurrants were the main features in the bundles, that were then neatly wrapped in tulle around the stalks. Hermione had the same just slightly larger, but hers also had white roses scattered throughout it. At Hermione's hen party ( a strange muggle tradition that Hermione insisted on ) she'd given each of her bridesmaids a necklace, a simple tear drop stone on a silver bed, Gabrielle, Ginny and Luna had a rose coloured quartz stone, and then Fleur ( being her maid of honour ) had an amethyst drop down stone. They looked stunning with all of their hair in loose curls over one shoulder, but Hermione was the main event today.

Finally once her make up was finished, she checked the time. Only half an hour to go. "We're doing this. This is happening. I'm getting married to Oliver Wood! Merlin, he's way out of my league."

"You've really done good babe." Ginny grinned, picking up the dress from the hanger against the door. "Now come on, it takes ages to get into this dress."

Once the girls had helped Hermione into her dress she stood looking at herself in the full length mirror, her hair was elegantly pinned up into a half up/half down do. Twists of hair were bound together magically and then Fleur had amazingly charmed Hermione's hair to lay in loose soft curls unlike it's usual slightly unruly mane of curls. Her make up was subtle yet striking, perfect for a winter wedding, and then she wore simple pearl earrings with a drop down pearl necklace that Oliver had given her just 24 hours before. But the dress was the main attraction, the fitted bodice clung to her like a second skin, intricately stitched with sequins that caught the light, there were long lace sleeves that covered any scars she possessed after the war and then the skirt.. The skirt flowed out from her waist in a full ball gown style, it was made up of tulle of varying colours, all soft greys, blue tones, blush and plum twists too. It had a birds nest effect yet made Hermione look prettier than she ever had at any of the balls she'd attended. She'd opted out of having a veil, it didn't feel right.. this felt right.

"Oh Hermione.. Mon petit cherie, you are stunning." Fleur gushed, playing with the tulle in the skirt just a little bit more. She stood back when she felt she was finished, letting Gabrielle and Ginny help her into her heels.

"I don't know about you being a lucky girl, but Oliver is certainly one lucky lucky man. Look at you." Ginny grinned, and Luna echoed her compliments.

There was a knock at the door and Mr Weasley pushed open the door when Hermione called to say they could come in, he stood in the hallway, speechless by his surrogate daughter.

"Hermione you.. you look beautiful." He offered his arm to her, and after a few quick photographs she took it. The bridesmaids all ushered themselves out of the grand room and down the hallway to where the wedding would take place, ready to walk in when the call came. Each of them had been paired up with a groomsmen, beside Oliver and Palmer who were already inside.

Neville was of course paired with Luna, Ron with Gabrielle, then Harry with Fleur and Draco with Ginny. Harry and Fleur were the last ones to walk down the aisle before Hermione herself.

"Hermione before we go downstairs, I wanted to give you something." Mr Weasley smiled sadly, his older, yet wiser eyes were slightly glazed over. He reached into the pocket of his suit jacket, taking a slightly tatty brown paper envelope out. Written in scrawly, curly handwriting was 'To my dearest daughter'.

Hermione closed her eyes tight and slowly conjured up the strength and courage to open her eyes and read the letter, she took it from his hands and smiled slightly. "Could I have a minute, please?"

Mr Weasley nodded and squeezed her hand, "Of course dear. I'll be right outside when you're ready."

She smiled and thought back to the amount of times she'd relied on the Weasleys throughout her adolescence, they were always there for her when she needed them and now here Mr Weasley was, giving Hermione the one thing she hadn't even realised she needed. The day had passed her by so far and her mind had only wandered to the lack of her parents being there once, but now it hit her like a brick. Taking a seat in the tall backed chair where her make up had been done, she was careful to slide her manicured nail under the flap of the envelope, removing the time stained piece of paper. Hermione wished at this point more than anything that her parents had been magical too, so their voices would have been encaptured by the letter just like wizarding letters did.

 _'_ _Hermione,_

 _Your Mother and I hoped this day would never happen, and that you wouldn't have to be reading this letter, but because you are that means that an awful tragedy has happened to us. I'm dreadfully sorry that we can't be there for you on your big day, but I'm sure that your fiancee, and his family, will be treating you well._

 _As a father, you wish to protect your little girl until the end of time, as soon as you were born I made a solemn vow to myself that I would never let harm happen to you - and I know that you are a head strong, passionate girl, but I'm glad that there is someone in your life now to protect you as I did. Don't roll your eyes at me as if I'm speaking in old traditional language of passing you from one man to another - I know it's not like that in any case._

 _Me and your mother had a beautiful relationship of equal partnership and solidarity as one, so I wish you all of that and more in your marriage, and your life. Your husband is someone that stands by you and stands up for you in everything that you do, and sure there may be fights, and arguments and you may want to throw in the towel, but remember why you love him and remember why he loves you. Love is eternal, and its not idealistic of me to believe that, it's true. I'm sure you look beautiful, so my darling Hermione, head up, smile, laugh and enjoy your day. We may not be there with you, but we are always with you in spirit._

 _Dad'_

Hermione held the letter close to her chest, quickly checking her make up in the mirror before standing up, taking a deep breath and walking out of the door. Surprisingly, Harry and Ron were stood there instead of Arthur Weasley.

"Harry, Ron? What are you two doing here?"

"We thought that you might need us," Harry smiled. "Because we need you right now."

"You're getting married Mione." Ron grinned, "Want me to look after that for you?" He gestured to the letter and she passed it on easily, knowing that it would be safe with him.

Harry took her hand gently, squeezing it. He knew who the letter was from, and he knew how hard it must've been for her. "A great man once told me that the ones who love us never really leave us."

Hermione laughed through her tears, hugging Ron and Harry tight. "Thank you." She whispered.

"Boy, I've not seen you cry this much since Albus' first birthday." Ron remarked, jokingly.

"Just because you've got the emotional range of a teaspoon, Ronald."

They all laughed and started to walk down the hallway. "I believe Hermione Granger, that you have a wedding to get to. Can't be late now can we?" Harry grinned, hooking her arm onto his, as Ron did the same.

* * *

The grand oak doors opened. The instruments started to play themselves. The congregation of witches and wizards stood. Strings of lights and floating candles flickered in the mid winter gloom, yet nothing was gloomy about today. One by one the pair of groomsmen and bridesmaids took to the aisle, walking in an overly practiced, yet hauntingly beautiful fashion. The click of the camera could be heard through the applause. Then finally, the doors opened one last time.

Hermione and Mr Weasley walked down the aisle, almost as if they were floating, Hermione spotted Katie and Amy at the back, then Micheal and Seamus separately, Dan Turbs and his husband both commented on how beautiful she looked as she passed them. Then further to the front Mr Weasley pointed out George and Angelina who she smiled and waved to, bizarrely they were sat next to Kingsley Shacklebolt, one of few from the ministry who she had invited to the ceremony. Finally she made it to the front, after what seemed like an eternity, and yet a split second all in one.

And there, Oliver was, in a dark suit with a plum tie and a boutonniere that matched her bouquet, with Albus on his hip. She smiled from ear to ear as she stepped up onto the platform that her boys were also stood on.

Palmer quickly stepped forward and took Albus from him, before letting Albus give Hermione a kiss on the cheek.

"You look .." He took a deep breath, trying to stop his eyes from glazing over, but it was too late.

"Nice?" She teased gently, whispering to him.

"That could work." He grinned, biting his lower lip a little.

* * *

 _Epliogue_

"Oh look, Harry and Draco are over there! I can't see Eva or Scorpius though, can you Ollie?" Hermione was guiding a very nervous Albus through the crowds of people on platform nine and three quarters.

Oliver walked on his tip toes, spotting the Potter-Malfoy family, but not seeing either of their children. Finally they had come to a stop with the other family, with Luna not far behind. She had brought the twins down from Hogsmeade so they could board the train with their friends, at least for their first year. Albus, Kitty and Xavier would all be starting their first year of Hogwarts, and each of their faces told a different story. Kitty was quite shy and nervous, but already knew quite a few girls in her year from her primary school, Xavier was cocky and confident, due to the fact he had been on the Hogsmeade quidditch team for a few years so knew quite a few people in all different years. And then there was Albus, gangly and tall, dark hair like his Dad, striking features and a lithe physique of all his quidditch playing that him and his Dad did. His face showed the true picture of fear and angst, he was terrified to start Hogwarts, being the son of the most famous witch of all time, and the son of the Captain of the English Quidditch team… he had a lot to live up to.

"Where are Eva and Scorpius?" Luna asked, just as confused as everyone else.

"Ah well, Eva is unwell so we left her with Gabrielle, she really wanted to see her brother off, but there is no use in her getting even more ill before her term starts." Draco spoke, with the authority that made Harry roll his eyes. Eva was their 8 year old daughter, who attended the Chelsea borough wizarding primary school, the first wizarding primary school that Draco had ever set up. "Scorpius is around here somewhere.."

Harry smiled and beckoned Scorpius over, "Hi guys, sorry, I had to go speak to Rowala. Albus, what's that face for?" Scorpius grinned, now a confident third year, he wrapped an arm around Albus' shoulder, pulling him to his side. "You don't need to be nervous.."

Hermione and Oliver glanced at each other nervously, but Harry cottoned on to this. "Scorp, why don't you and Albus get your trunks onto the train?" They both took the cue and picked up their luggage, but just before Scorpius left Harry whispered in his ear, "Give him some advice yeah? He looks terrified."

Scorpius nodded and smiled, and after they'd gotten their luggage onto the train he pulled Albus aside gently. "What's up Al? You look scared shit less mate." If Draco heard him speaking like that he'd be dead, but Hogwarts had definitely forced Scorpius to relax and not be so much like his father.

"I guess, it's just. Mum's minister of magic, and Dad's the captain for england.. I've got a lot to live up to.. What if I don't get sorted into Gryffindor? Sometimes.. I don't always think of the bravest thing, and I'm always playing tricks on Libby…"

"Your sister loves it when you play tricks on her. Now, come on you. My Dad's are Harry fucking Potter, and Draco Malfoy. How much stick do you think I get?" Scorpius smiled, punching Albus' arm playfully. "And with regards to the houses.. How bad would it be if you weren't sorted into Gryffindor?"

"I guess the houses aren't like they used to be.."

"Look, all I'm saying is, I've been in Slytherin for three years now, and it really isn't painful in the slightest." Scorpius tried to joke, but then saw the look on Albus' face. "Your house, whoever they are, will always be there for you. No matter what your last names are. And then you also have to remember, that you have the biggest extended family you could hope for." Scorpius and Albus looked over to Draco and Harry, Oliver and Hermione along with Libby, Luna and the twins, and Ron. "See?"

Albus grinned, "Thanks Scorpius! You know, you're kind of wise beyond your years."

"I blame my parents, they're always quoting people." Scorpius smirked slightly, thinking of his childhood, when his dad's would quote Dumbledore, Sirius and Snape.. to name a few. It only reminded him of how lucky he is, to have a family like his.

About half an hour later, everyone had boarded the train, all settled into the Hogwarts Express compartments. And then all too soon the families were left on the platform, looking to each other in bewilderment. "Leaky cauldron?" Ron smiled, pulling Libby up onto his shoulders.


End file.
